Knotted
by Lady Cheshire
Summary: A series of events bring them together, pair by pair. Set sporadically throughout the year. Epilogue: Culmination. Dual shadows test the bonds of the S.E.E.S. members as they depend on each other's strength and defend each other's weaknesses.
1. Chapter 1

It was summer, and Ken Amada was in agony.

What could be worse, Ken wondered, than being stuck inside on a gorgeous day alone.

Well, almost alone.

Sanada-san was at the gym, Fuuka and Yukari were at the shrine with Koromaru paying their respects to Koromaru's fallen master, while Junpei and Minato were at the arcade with Aigis, probably having a blast introducing her to the joys of whack-a-mole. Ken wasn't particularly enthused by the arcade, but he did get some enjoyment out of it, so he didn't feel too bad being left out of the activities of his mentors, but still. . . he wish he could be out doing something productive. Ken would have gone out on his own, but Ikutsuki had strongly advised him to stay with one of his teammates at all times. Like he needed to be babysat. At this point, while he was still getting to know everyone, he had no choice but to follow orders.

There was one option, and it was sitting downstairs in the lounge reading a book.

Ken took a deep breath before quietly taking a trip down the stairs and slowly walked down the hallway, trying to think of what to say. _"Will you play with me?" _Ken thought over, mockingly. This was absurd, the whole notion of requesting a companion. Ken was perfectly able to walk himself to the park and amuse himself as he saw fit, he certainly didn't need a guide or a chaperone.

He coyly stepped into the main lounge and took a large gulp as he looked over at Kirijo-san, who was sitting quaintly in the chair closest to the dorm entrance. She had her legs crossed in a businesslike fashion, with the book spread open gracefully before her eyes. It did not appear as though she had noticed Ken, so he took a few tentative steps toward her.

Mitsuru softly looked over her book as she saw Amada's flushed and downcast face, and she cordially smiled at him and lowered her book.

"Amada. Hello."

He raised his eyes momentarily at her and then nodded.

"Hello, Kirijo-san." he murmured softly.

Mitsuru waited for him to speak further, and when he did not she scrunched her forehead slightly.

"Are you all right, Amada?" she asked concerned, closing her book and putting it down on the coffee table.

Ken nodded, a little too energetically.

"Um, I. . . I was wondering if you. . ." Ken twisted his feet on the ground, smashing a bit of nothing further into the floor.

Mitsuru raised her eyebrows, patiently waiting for him to finish.

Ken sighed.

"I was wondering if you'd go to the park with me." He blurted out, feeling immensely better that it finally had gotten out but feeling really stupid for saying it so ungracefully.

Mitsuru was looking at him, as though that were the most shocking thing a young boy could say to her.

"Oh. . . I. . ." she choked. Obviously, she was caught off guard as indicated by her cheeks turning a red that put her hair to shame.

Ken felt mortified at her reaction.

"It's okay if you can't- I mean, no big deal-" he said quickly, waving his hands defensively in front of him.

Mitsuru looked at Ken helplessly.

"I believe Takeba and Yamagishi will be back soon-" she offered pathetically.

"Right. Of course. Sure. I can wait." Ken nodded, his eyes resorting back to the sanctuary-like sight of his feet.

He heard her sigh.

"Amada. . . I'm sorry. How terrible of me. Of course, I will go to the park with you." She said bravely, uncrossing her legs and standing up and resuming her intimidating stance. Ken looked up at her with wide eyes, not so sure he wanted to go anymore.

Mitsuru smiled unsurely.

* * *

Ken watched with pure amazement as Mitsuru pulled around the corner in her bike, looking sharper and scarier than ever. He swallowed down his nagging fear as she and the powerful motorcycle stopped before him. Mitsuru leaned down, picked up a helmet, and offered it casually to Ken. Ken took it, trying to hide the merciless shaking of his hands. If she noticed it, she didn't say anything or was nice enough to pretend not to see it. Ken wasn't scared about being killed on the bike or even being so close next to Mitsuru (she's just a girl). He was just nervous because he had never done it before and he didn't want to look stupid in front of one of his leaders.

"Amada?" Mitsuru's voice startled Ken, and he clutched the helmet a little closer.

"Right! Okay!"

Ken awkwardly stradled the motrobike, secretly thanking Mitsuru for keeping the bike steady but not trying to fuss over him safely getting on.

"Ready?" Mitsuru asked, revving the engine.

Ken nodded.

"Amada?" she asked again, turning around slightly.

"Oh. I guess you didn't hear my nod." Amada laughed nervously.

Mitsuru startled him when she laughed lightly too. A very pretty laugh, Amada noticed.

"You're going to have to hold on a little more tightly."

Ken reached around Mitsuru's thin waist and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"Good." She went to lift her feet up and remove the security of the kickstand when Ken pressed his head against her back.

"Kirijo-san?!" Ken yelped suddenly.

"Yes?" she replied.

"What do I do?!"

Mitsuru gave a faint smile that Amada couldn't see.

"Just lean into the turns with me; Let me handle the rest, all right?"

Ken nodded.

"Okay!"

Without another word, Mitsuru flipped the kickstand and the motorcycle lept forward, causing Ken to grip Mitsuru's waist a little tighter.

Together, they flew through the streets of Port Island; hugging turns, dodging and spinning around slower traffic, and feeling free and unrestrained.

Ken's initial apprehension took off with the jump of the wheel, and from the dorm to the park he felt nothing but unbridled glee at being seated behind Kirijo-san and zipping effortlessly through the streets.

They arrived safely at the park, and after Mitsuru tenderly parked her bike, she and Ken began walking around the rim of the large park. Ken had been here many a time, mostly to walk around and clear his mind, so he knew the general layout enough to lead a somewhat dazed Mitsuru Kirijo around its premises.

"The dynamics of this park are quite eloquent. The urban planners are to be commended for their choice of trees and emphasis on walkability."

Ken nodded.

"It's a nice park. Lots of people come here just for a break, you know?"

As they continued around the park, they came upon a playground. Mitsuru stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and appeared to be analyzing the different structures. Her eyes settled on the swings.

"Strange," she murmured to herself. "such small and simple equipment brings so much joy to so many."

Ken knew she was talking to herself, but he agreed with her. He never understood the amusement of the other children when they were frolicking on slides and climbing walls. He preferred to read during his breaks, but couldn't help but feel a tingle of envy when he saw the other children mindlessly enjoying himselves.

Ken noticed Mitsuru was still looking at the swings.

"Do you want to swing, Kirijo-san?" He asked meekly.

Mitsuru looked down and over at Ken with wide eyes.

"I. . . I beg your pardon?"

"Would you like to swing?"

Mitsuru shook her head energetically.

"I- I'm much too big. . . I'd look ridiculous. . . I'm too old-"

Ken acknowledged her with a few quick nods.

Mitsuru paused.

"Oh, Amada, how selfish of me. Did you want to-"

"No, no! It's okay, you just were looking at them like you wanted to."

Mitsuru cast her eyes downward.

"I guess I was just remembering. . . my father and I would. . ." Mitsuru purposely cut herself short.

Ken paused.

"My mom used to push me on the swings too." he said, looking down at the ground nostalgically. He did not notice the flash of guilt that momentarily clouded Mitsuru's eyes. There was a tight silence between them and Mitsuru folded her arms thoughtfully.

"Amada. . . let's. . . let's swing."

Ken looked up at her incredulously, wondering if aliens had abducted her, eaten her brain, and replaced it with someone else's. Mitsuru Kirijo wanted to swing?

"You- You really want to?"

Mitsuru nodded confidently.

"Absolutely. Besides – there aren't many people here anyway. . . and even if they do laugh at me, I don't mind." Mitsuru flashed a smile down at Ken and he returned the happy smile.

* * *

After they had spent a few minutes swinging together, Ken bailed out and started pushing Mitsuru.

"C'mon, Kirijo-san, you can go higher than that!" Ken teased.

Mitsuru laughed as Ken gave her back another shove and she pumped her legs to soar higher. "I'm going as high as I can!" she said back.

Ken shook his head. "I bet you can fly right over the bar and wind back around!"

Mitsuru laughed again at this ridiculous notion.

"The way you say it, I'm sure I could, Amada!"

Mitsuru pumped her way so that her head was almost level with the bar.

"Now, jump out!"

"What?!" Mitsuru screamed back at Amada behind her, who gave her another hard shove.

"Jump out!"

"I don't remember this requirement being enforced when-"

"Just do it!" Ken ordered.

Mitsuru held her breath and clenched her eyes shut and then catapulted herself forward off of the safety of her swing's seat and, just like a feline, landed square on her feet in in the thick of surrounding sand.

Ken looked at her wide-eyed and mouth agape.

"Wow! In those shoes too! You're amazing, Kirijo-san!"

Mitsuru blushed modestly.

"Would you like to keep swinging?"

Ken shrugged.

"Nah, I think I'm kind of done for today."

Mitsuru nodded.

"Shall we walk around a bit more?"

Ken was about to answer her when he saw a brightly colored cart out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey!" he said, smiling and pointing to the cart. "Shaved ice!"

Mitsuru looked at him with mild suprise. This abnormally mature elementary aged boy was showing a few signs of being a real child. It was reassuring to Mitsuru, she had to admit. She watched him sometimes around the dorm, mulling over books with a serious expression or petting Koromaru's fur thoughtfully. He reminded her-

Mitsuru's thoughts were sharply interrupted by the blurred movement of Ken, now quite a distance away from Mitsuru, who was running toward the vendor. Mitsuru's leadership accountability and protective nature kicked in and she took off after Amada.

"Amada!" she yelled, chasing after the to the swift boy.

She caught up to him in time to hear him ordering a commodity from the vendor.

"One medium wedding cake, please." Ken said, his chin barely reaching the counter of the small cart. Mitsuru, who was still slightly winded, looked at him bewildered.

"Wedding cake!? Amada-"

Ken shook his head at her and laughed lightly.

"It's a flavor. What would you like, Kirijo-san?"

Mitsuru looked relieved. "I'm fine, thank you," she replied crisply.

"Haven't you had shaved ice before?" Ken asked, suddenly feeling much more like a child now.

Mitsuru looked at him as though he were speaking some strange dialect.

"No. . ."

Ken sighed laboriously, and pulled Mitsuru over so that she could see the flavors. He watched her read through the list of flavors, her expression becoming increasingly confused as she perused the different varieties.

"Crazy coconut. . . Wacky Watermelon. . . does that. . . does that say Tiger's Blood?" She looked at the vendor abhorringly. "Why- the audacity! Poaching a wild animal and selling its blood as a flavor to-"

Ken could not keep his laughter in any more, and leaned over as he clutched his stomach from laughing so hard. Mitsuru looked at him scathingly.

"Amada, please, I'm trying to talk to-"

"No, Kirijo-san, it's just a name! It's not literal."

Ken wiped a tear away from his eye and scooted up to the counter. "-one Tiger's Blood, please." Ken asked, trying not to laugh at the shaking vendor.

Mitsuru gave a stiff nod to the man behind the counter.

"I see. I apologize."

Ken smiled gratefully at the vendor when the latter finished up serving them their shaved ice. Ken paid him and then led Mitsuru over to a nearby bench.

"I haven't had one of these in so long!" he said happily as Mitsuru took a seat next to him.

"Here you go," Ken said handing Mitsuru a cup of red colored shaved ice and a spoon. Mitsuru looked down at the shaved ice with an expression resembling simultaneous intrigue and doubt. She tentatively poked the pile of ice and syrup with her spoon before scooping a small bit unto her spoon.

Ken watched her in anticipation as she gingerly put the spoon in her mouth.

Her face relaxed in shock.

"Well?" Amada said, wincing slightly.

"It's exquisite!" she profused leaning over to Amada as though it were a revelation to the human race.

Ken smiled laughingly.

"The flavor. . . It's intricate and simple at the same time- how fascinating!" Mitsuru couldn't seem to keep her enthusiasm contained.

Ken was looking at Mitsuru as if he was meeting her for the first time. The smile on her face was pure ecstacy. The fact that a simple shaved ice could bring such happiness to one who appeared so stern and cold brought Ken to the realization that he hadn't known who his mysterious leader was at all before today. Now, he had been honored with a rare glimpse into her soul.

"I'm glad you like it." Ken said simply.

Mitsuru looked to him softly.

"Yes. Thank-you, Amada." She said sincerely.

They finished their shaved ice just as the sun was going down. When Mitsuru suggested they head back to the dormitory, Ken agreed and was happy to be back on the bike.

* * *

When they arrived back at the dorm, Ken watched Mitsuru put away her bike and walked back up to the front entrance of the dorm.

"Kirijo-san?" Ken said softly as Mitsuru put her hand on the door. Mitsuru looked to him inquiringly.

"Thanks. . . for today, I mean. I'm glad we went." Ken said, blushing slightly.

Mitsuru nodded, hiding a smile.

"Of course, and thank you, Amada. I always enjoy a new experience, especially when it's with a good friend."

Ken looked at her, not quite believing what he had just heard but glowing with happiness all the same.

Mitsuru moved to enter the dorm, but turned back to Ken once more.

"Amada?"

"Yes, Kirijo-san?"

"Please refer to me as 'senpai' from now on."

Amada grinned.

"Thanks. . . Mitsuru-senpai."

Mitsuru gave a formal nod before opening the door for Ken and then following him inside.


	2. Chapter 2

For the second time in his life, Junpei had been deeply hurt. This time around had been different than the sting of his father's bottle, and to be fair these two times were not comparable. The first time Junpei had been deeply wounded, it had been due to his father's rejection of Junpei's desire to be a whole family and not a broken home. Junpei had dealt with it by accepting it and making a point to disappear on those really bad nights, because when he didn't disappear his father would acknowledge his presence with 'tough love,' something Junpei never did understand but somehow gravitated to.

The second time was different, and Junpei had coped even better than he could imagine.

Losing her was . . . could he even put words to it? Did he even deserve to summarize how he felt about her death? Nevertheless, when he managed to overcome over his grief he realized that the resilience that kept him alive during that first hurdle had grown, thanks to her, and he was now able to handle any blow.

Of course, Junpei didn't give thought to any of this. In fact, Junpei still felt like a slug from time to time. The kind of slug he was before he met Chidori. No extra special persona abilities, no all-encompassing attack moves, not even an extra-curricular group. It was important to remember that none of that mattered to Chidori, but Junpei could not shake the feeling that he had somehow let her down due to his ordinary nature.

"Junpei-san."

Junpei looked up and met two piercing blue eyes which were locked on to Junpei with full attention. He jumped slightly at her penetrating gaze but managed to laugh it off smoothly enough.

"Hey, Ai-chan." He said, giving her a genuine Junpei grin.

Aigis did not smile at his tone, but merely shifted her eyebrows into a serious expression.

"I have carefully been analyzing you for the last few weeks. You seem to have made a full emotional recovery after your loss, or have made enough progress to grant you a tranquil state of mind. You are in excellent physical form-"

"Aigis, you have no idea what that means to me coming from a cute girl-" Junpei's grin widened.

Aigis plowed on.

"However, there are days when my analysis returns abnormal. These are the days when you seem to be in a neutral state of mind which neither dictates despair nor joy. I am. . . confused by this behavior."

Junpei felt confused too. He looked at Aigis' grave expression for a moment before the epiphany hurdled at him. Junpei impatiently snort and folded his arms as he fell back against his seat.

"Yeah, I'll bet you are. So who told you to keep an eye on me, huh? Akihiko-senpai? Minato?"

Aigis' serious demenour intensified.

"I do not understand." she murmured sounding hurt, "I have been monitoring you independently of the others and of my own volition."

Junpei looked up at her befuddled, suddenly feeling like a jerk but too confused to apologize for it.

"Huh? Why, Ai-chan?"

Aigis paused as she briefly looked to the floor and then returned to Junpei.

"I am. . . concerned."

Junpei was silent so Aigis continued.

"I know you have recovered, but. . . there are times it seems you are. . . hesitant."

Junpei mulled that word over for a bit.

Hesitant. Yes. Junpei had accepted Chidori's untimely and most unfair death with a resolution to live for both her and himself, but it never occurred to him how or in which mindset to accomplish this resolution. How was he supposed get back to living. . .?

"Heh. . . you got me there, Ai-chan." Junpei said softly with a humble smile. He took his hat off and rubbed his head thoughtfully. Aigis' dire expression softened a bit, the seriousness ebbing into a sharp concern.

"I guess I kinda got stuck, eh?" Junpei offered, fiddling with his hat in his hands but not meeting those dominating blue eyes.

Aigis paused, unsure of what she should or even could do next.

Aigis decided to sit next to Junpei. He remained lost in thought as she softly placed herself next to him and spoke.

"You and Minato-san go to a place called 'Escapade,' when one of you is sad. When you return, you both seem happier. Perhaps this is what you should do to rid your hesitation for 'life'"

Junpei chuckled softly at his hat.

"Uh. . . going to Escapade stopped being fun a while ago. Minato's not a very good wingman. All the girls kinda bob around him and think I'm just his doofy friend. . . which I am, I guess."

Aigis frowned.

"Wingman." She repeated dully. "What is a wingman, Junpei-san?"

Junpei twisted his lip and furrowed his eyebrow.

"Um. . . hrmph. . . a wingman is. . . well, someone who helps you check out other girls. You know what I mean?"

Aigis replied with a sharp and empty stare.

"No," Junpei answered for her, laughing. "Guess not. . . well, when a guy is scopin' out the ladies, sometimes he needs a-a little help." Junpei blushed. "N-not that I need 'help' but you know, sometimes it's nice to have a guy whose got your back and who isn't gonna scam the same girl you've got your eye on. Like- uh- someone who will help you out when he sees you're in sticky spot, or is there just in case. . ."

Junpei decided to cut his diatribe short lest he pour forth more nonsense.

Aigis was silent, and Junpei could almost see the gears and switches flaring behind those beautiful blue eyes before she punctually acknowledged him.

"I think I am beginning to understand the concept of a 'wingman', Junpei-san."

"Yeah?"

"Affirmative. This strategy has also been implemented by biological entities in the environments which selected them."

Junpei felt like he was in math class, he looked that way too.

"You lost me."

"Wild turkeys have evolved so that the male turkeys, brothers specifically, will escort each other in searching for a mate. There is a dominant brother and a subordinate brother, and the subordinate brother accompanies the dominant turkey in selecting a mate, even though the subordinate does not breed. This ecological example demonstrates that the subordinate turkey has as much to gain as the dominant turkey through cooperation and practice."

Junpei was mystified.

"Turkeys, huh?"

Aigis gave a patient nod.

"Hmm." Junpei thought that was kind of interesting, but knowing the mating habits of turkeys didn't really help much with the situation. Besides, it wasn't like he was looking for anything in particular.

Junpei's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Aigis shot up out of her seat.

"Junpei-san, I will be your wingman." she proclaimed.

Junpei gaped back at her dumbly, and Aigis interpreted this hollow expression as a polite 'no'.

"I would require only the most basic form of training, after this trial period I would only need correction-"

"Hey- slow down! I didn't say no!" Junpei got up off of the couch energetically as he put his hat back on. Aigis rewarded him with a dazzling smile.

"Thank-you, Junpei-san! I will not fail you!"

"Heh. . . yeah. . . it'll be fun, right?"

* * *

Junpei enlisted Minato's help in training Aigis in the ways of 'seduction'. While Minato was not thrilled at the idea of being replaced by a robot, he was still eager to help. To their frustration, Aigis' awesome intelligence served as a rather hefty barrier in teaching her the ways of man-to-man support. After about 2 hours of going through different strategies, hypothetical problems which could occur, and how not to make Junpei look like a creep, Aigis had finally latched on to the notion of what she needed to do and was almost ready.

Junpei waited downstairs with the rest of S.E.E.S, excluding the girls who were upstairs helping Aigis dress inconspicuously (to hide her true form and to help her blend in more so that her appearance wouldn't give the wrong idea to other girls). He was actually excited about going out tonight and the idea of getting back to his old self was beginning to look a lot more fun.

"Please remember what we discussed earlier, Aigis." Mitsuru's voice wafted into the room. Junpei and the others looked up and over to the doorway where the girls had suddenly appeared.

Junpei stood up slowly, unsure if what he was seeing was really Aigis.

The girls had selected a soft dark green silk dress (Junpei guessed the dress belonged to Fuuka) that tightly hugged her shoulders and then flowed down to her hands. The dress was breathtaking and efficiently hid her metallic frame. Junpei grinned.

"All right, Ai-chan! You look smokin' hot!"

Aigis gave a wide grin.

Yukari gave an exasperated sigh.

"Now here we are, trying to look Aigis look classy and you go and drool all over her!"

"We decided to go with a conservative yet sweet appeal. Do you like it?" Fuuka offered.

Minato nodded appreciatively.

"You guys do good work." he added, looking Aigis over.

Mitsuru turned to Junpei seriously while the former conversation unfolded.

"Iori. A word please?" she motioned to the adjoining dining room. Junpei gave her a befuddled look but shrugged and followed her into the dining room and looked at her questioningly.

"Everything all right, senpai?"

Mitsuru sighed and crossed her arms.

"I can't say I'm particularly fond of your plans tonight, but they seem harmless enough. However," Mitsuru intoned sharply. "I want you to keep an eye on Aigis. She hasn't been in an informal social situation like this before and well. . . I'm concerned about the volatile nature of this scenario. Could you just look after her tonight?"

Junpei wondered what the hell a machine (a friggin machine that could kick the Terminator's ass) like Aigis would need with someone like him watching ove her, but nodded casually anyway.

"All right- uh, sure, Mitsuru-senpai."

Mitsuru smiled courteously.

"I knew I could count on you, Iori."

Junpei flashed her a cheesy grin before swaggering over to Aigis and offering her his arm.

"Let Operation-Ai-chan-score-me-a-babe commence!"

* * *

It was a Friday night and Escapade was experiencing an evening around full capacity. Aigis' senses were overloaded by the flashing lights, screaming music, yelling teenagers and young people, and the muggy feeling of sweat and restlessness. She looked over to Junpei and saw the expression of a lost young man. It quickly passed, however, and before long Junpei was giving her a nudge on the shoulder.

"Let's get this party started, baby!" he yelled to Aigis over the roar of the music. Junpei motioned to a lovely brown-haired girl who was sitting at the bar; alone.

"What about her?"

"Acknowledged. I will assume my post and commence the operation."

Aigis discreetly made her way to the small bar. Though she had no intent of ordering a drink, Aigis gave one last acknowledging nod to Junpei, and sat down quickly and dramatically next to the girl. The girl looked over at mild surprise and then annoyance before returning to her drink.

"I'm sorry." Aigis said earnestly to the girl. "I just. . ." she began, sounding close to tears.

"Oh. . . it's all right." The girl said awkwardly, unsure of what to do with this emotional girl next to her.

Aigis gave a heavy sigh.

"It's just . . . my ex-boyfriend just arrived and I don't want him to see how upset I still am over him." Aigis warily pointed Junpei out to the girl. Junpei was putting on quite the scene of looking bored stiff at the attractive girls dancing around him.

"Oh. . . that's so sad. Guys are such jerks. You'll be okay!" she smiled encouragingly.

Aigis put a hand on her cheek and looked down at the bar table in despair.

"No. . . he is-" dramatic choke "was! The most amazing thing to have ever happened to me! He used to-to-to take me out every night, and he would write stupid little poems- and he'd pretend to like my awful music just because he loved me so-so much! And I just threw it all away for one night with some track team star!" Aigis sobbed out.

"Wow, you're really torn up. . ." the girl said softly, looking back at Junpei. "Oh no! He's coming over here! Just- act like you're having a great time! Here laugh with me! Hahahahah!"

Aigis looked at her, unprepared for this turn of events.

"Uhm- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"Not so loud! You don't want to sound fake, do you?"

Aigis' large eyes focused on Junpei who was now sitting on the opposite end of the bar. Junpei sulkily looked at Aigis, and then moved to leave his seat, but changed his mind and instead gloomily stared down at his hands.

"Wow . . . he looked pretty cute from far away, but up close he's really handsome." the girl observed.

Aigis made a small squeak before covering her eyes and making a few awful, albeit muffled, shrieks.

Junpei looked over darkly and then painfully looked away from Aigis.

"Oh, sweetie, look you're doing an awful job of keeping it together! You can't let a guy ruin you like this! No matter how wonderful he is!"

Aigis let loose yet another dramatic sigh and hit her fist lightly on the countertop. Junpei took leave of his seat and began to make his way through the crowd over to Aigis' seat.

"It's no use, I-It's just too soon. I'm sorry-I've got to get out of here-"

Aigis launched up and out of her chair and fled into the nearest dark corner before her newfound acquaintance could even speak. Shortly after, Junpei arrived at the scene with a forlorn look wrought upon his face.

"Damn, I missed her, didn't I?"

The girl nodded.

Junpei gave an aggrieved sigh before filling Aigis' vacant seat.

"S'probably good. I probably wouldn't have been very gentlmanly." Junpei muttered absently.

The girl was silent as she sized up Junpei methodically.

"Um, I guess so."

Junpei was motionless.

"Man. . . I've never had a girl tear me up so much before."

The girl looked sympathetically at her hands, and Junpei continued.

"I gave her everything I had, you know? And she just. . . threw it all away for some guy." Junpei gave an agonized moan before leaning heavily on his hand.

The girl sighed.

"I'm Kiki." She said politely.

"Junpei." He said distantly, looking at her with forlorn eyes.

Kiki nodded and spoke delicately. "She wasn't right for you. You deserve a girl who knows how to treat a special guy like you. Why, the way she spoke of you, you think she would have realized what she had instead of taking it for granted."

Junpei shrugged.

"Maybe. Maybe I deserve it. . . tch, who'd want a mope like me anyway? I'm nothing to look at . . ."

Kiki smiled.

"Hey don't be so hard on yourself, you're a great looking guy! In fact. . . when she pointed you out to me I thought she was crazy for letting a looker like you go so easily."

Junpei smiled at her faintly.

"You. . . you really think so?"

"Absolutely." Kiki responded almost immediately, turning her body toward him suggestively.

Junpei took his cue to relax and responded to her by turning fully to her.

"I know this is weird coming from someone who is just getting over a relationship but. . . you're- beautiful." He said flatly.

Kiki smiled.

"That's not weird at all. . . would you like to dance with me, Junpei?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Aigis had been distracting a few select, potentially competitive, males from approaching this same girl which Junpei was trying to 'seduce'. She had been successful in deterring one male in particular. It had been extremely simple, actually. Aigis had seen them heading toward the girl at the same time Junpei had sat down. Now it was merely a matter of asking him questions which applied to his ego. What sports he did, how much he could bench-press, the kind of manga he liked; the usual (according to Minato, of course). Aigis would even go as far as to say that it had worked too well, and now the young man was asking her questions; like what she was doing on Saturday night and where she lived.

Aigis' eyes flashed to the dance floor as she saw Junpei and his target dancing on the dance floor. However, her gaze had lingered a bit too long, and the young man's eyes followed Aigis'.

"Shit!" he yelled, running his hands through his hair. The boy suddenly darted away from Aigis and went to another young man nearby. Aigis' keen sense of hearing picked up their conversation.

"Hey, Mikio! Some guy is dancing with your girl!"

"What?! That son of a-"

Aigis saw a large young man with a devastatingly large body rise above all the other heads in the crowd. Her gaze narrowed in on him and she immediately identified him to be a potential threat. Aigis was not expecting him to move so fast or so fluidly through the crowd; but he did. Before she could register the events; Mikio had not only made his way to Junpei, but had all ready grabbed the latter by his hair and had dragged him out of Escapade with a testosterone-filled entourage in tow.

Aigis was immediately in pursuit.

* * *

"Oh shit- shit shit shit!" Junpei muttered as he was thrown against the damp back alley wall. In addition to the one huge monster which had him pinned between a rock and a hard place (Mikio being the rock, the wall being the hard place), there were four other guys snapping their knuckles and tightening their belts; all of them grunting in anticipation.

"Heh heh, uh hey l-look, I didn't know she was your girl- I mean, but nothing happened, right? I mean no harm, no foul, right?"

Mikio responded by punching Junpei in the mouth. Junpei doubled over, gasping gasping in pain. Mikio went to roll another punch at Junpei when a childlike voice pleadingly interrupted them.

"Please. . . let him go."

The tone in her voice resembled a sister asking her brother to return a treasured toy. The five young men looked behind them to a sad-faced, tall, doll-eyed blonde in a sweet dark green dress. Mikio glared at her and shook Junpei back up against the wall. Junpei's head lolled up dully, a trickle of blood creeping down his lip.

"Who is she? Tell her to get out of here." He snarled.

Junpei swallowed as he saw Aigis' nearly broken-hearted expression. Junpei couldn't let her see this! He'd be humiliated- besides he promised Mitsuru-senpai-

"Ai-chan. . . just get outta here. . ." he said defeated, "you don't wanna see this."

Aigis' robotic face contorted.

"I do not understand. You are in obvious peril, yet you want me to leave." Aigis reasoned.

Junpei limply shook his head, trying to focus his attention on one of the four Aigises.

"Look, Ai-chan, please. . . please go!"

Junpei had barely finished before he was granted another seizing punch, this time to his gut.

Aigis' face became set in determination before she strode up to Mikio and politely tapped him on the shoulder. He looked incredulously behind him at this unassuming and small girl.

"What the hell do you want?" Mikio said, unabashed.

"I asked you to let him go. You have not abided my request. Please, cease and desist, and I will not harm you." Aigis still sounded like the sister calmly asking for her doll back.

Mikio sneered at her and dropped Junpei to the ground. Junpei gave a startled 'umph', but went silent when he saw Mikio go for Aigis.

Without any idea of what he was going up against, Mikio stepped up nose to nose to Aigis while making himself look as big as possible.

"You wanna play with the big boys, sweetheart? Huh?" Mikio said softly, his words laced with malice. He gave her a testy poke on the shoulder, making her budge slightly in her momentum.

"Hey man, just let her go-" Junpei moaned miserably.

"No. I want you to leave Junpei-san alone." Aigis replied frankly.

"Oh, I'll leave him alone all right-" Mikio snatched a handful of Aigis' hair and began to brutally pull it. Aigis responded by grabbing Mikio's throat and throwing him a good three feet up against the wall before her. As she had him pinned and gasping for breath, one of Mikio's friends rushed her. Without delay, Aigis threw an arm artfully into his stomach and he hurtled through the air before meeting the ground with crack.

"Holy shit!" whimpered one of Mikio's unharmed friends.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" cried another.

The three unharmed teenagers made a mad dash into the night, and Aigis cordially released Mikio, who slumped to the ground, unconcious.

Aigis approached Junpei, who was still sitting on the cold ground, dumbstruck. She extended her arm out to him and he took it only to be pulled up off of his feet a few inches. After a moment of dancing on air, he landed squarely on his heels.

Junpei marvelled at her fearfully.

"Holy shit, Ai-chan-" was all he could muster.

Aigis looked at him searchingly.

"You are unhurt?"

Junpei nodded, wiping the blood from his mouth, but not taking his eyes off of Aigis.

"H-holy shit!" Junpei stammered again.

"Let us return home. I believe we have achieved what we sought out to do and that you no longer feel. . . hesitation. Am I correct?"

"I feel friggin _awesome_ after watching you trash those punks! Makes me wanna go protect something myself-" Junpei squelched, jumping up and down with glee.

Aigis nodded as they began to walk home together, side by side.

"I must admit. . . I feel. . . accomplished in helping you, Junpei-san." Aigis added.

Junpei took off his hat in order to wipe off the sweat that had gathered under the brim.

"You had me worried for a second there, Ai-chan. I thought I was going to have to tell Mitsuru-senpai that I couldn't keep an eye on you."

Aigis stopped momentarily.

* * *

"_I hope Stupei doesn't do anything to embarrass himself." Yukari muttered, smoothing out a fine wrinkle in Aigis' dress._

_Mitsuru stood by observantly as Fuuka checked the back of the dress to make sure everything was in place._

"_I think he'll do all right, what with Aigis there. She'll make sure Junpei-kun stays afloat, won't you Aigis?" Fuuka said, coming up behind Aigis' shoulder and meeting the aforementioned's face in the mirror._

_Aigis frowned slightly._

"_I do not understand, Fuuka-san. But- I will make sure that nothing bad happens to Junpei-san. I will protect him." _

_The three girls suddenly stopped to take another look at this machine who was becoming more and more human everyday. _

"_Aigis. . ." Yukari murmured softly, a tender smile creeping over her mouth. _

_Mitsuru nodded appreciatively._

"_You've suddenly made my life a lot easier, Aigis. You are truly amazing." Mitsuru stepped up to the mirror, so that now the three human girls were pondering the fourth reflection. Mitsuru turned to Aigis after a moment of thoughtful consideration._

"_Perhaps this is more covert operation, Aigis. . . Iori's ego is still frail. . . let him be in charge tonight, and you can intervene as necessity dictates."_

"_Understood."_

* * *

"Yo, Ai-chan. . . Earth to Aigis!"

Aigis looked up with a start and saw Junpei waving his hands in front of her eyes.

"My apologies, Junpei-san." Aigis said quietly. "What were you saying?"

Junpei chuckled as he continued to walk on, this time with Aigis joining him.

"Can you teach me that sweet arm-toss? That looked kick-ASS!"

Aigis felt the tingle of a small smile forming behind her cold lips.

"Yes, but you must promise me to use it solely on shadows."

"Aw MAN! Are you serious?!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Breathing was beginning to take more energy than it was worth while the blood was practically cascading out of his mouth and nose. He couldn't stand, that much was obvious, but he was at the point where kneeling was painful. _

_A retroactive green sky streched above him, marred by the prolific red moon hanging gruesomely to the West. The cement below him was dotted with coffins and broken glass, a pandemonium of man made creation gone to the dogs. Escape was laughable. He was trapped in a labryinth of buildings and skyscrapers, each of them acting as a fence post attached to sheets of barbed wire in the form of trains and cars._

_Castor was on the rise._

_He watched mystified as the dark horseman lifted off silently before him._

_He had but moments to gaze at the monstruous apparition before the enemy appeared. They apparated around him, clambering out of windows, slithering out of man-holes, and declaring all out war on the persona. _

_Castor eliminated them with brutal efficiency, stomping and tearing them apart as though they were nothing but ants. With every enemy defeated, he felt as though his insides were being pushed through a sieve and his mind was being cranked through a vice. He gripped his hair, hoping the pulling sensation would detract from the blood oozing from his mouth, nose, and now his ears. _

_He pryed his bloodstained eyes open to find that the shadows had now turned into his S.E.E.S comrades. _

_Takeba was valiantly shielding Amada, her eyes red with frustrated sobbing and her hands blistered and bent. In addition to her fatigue, Takeba's bow was broken in two and her chest ripped open and oozing. Castor gave a howling laugh as he trampled the girl and threw Amada to the ground. The boy did not get up._

_He felt his ribs contract and break as he screamed. Blood pushed its way past his throat and out his mouth._

_He looked and saw Iori sobbing over the wreckage of Koromaru's little body. The young man went to crawl to Iori, but felt his knees crack and fall out under him. Castor heeded his embittered master's call and flew at Iori. Castor's victim made a brave attempt to pull himself up and fight off the horseman, but Castor had him ensnared in a dark embrace. Leaving the aftermath of Akasha Arts and Iori's limp form, the young man looked over to his side and could not contain the tearing feeling inside his intestines as he screamed and screamed. _

_Akihiko sat on his hunches, looking mournfully at the bloodstained and torn body of Mitsuru. His hand was cupping her porcelain face but his eyes were looking at him expectantly. She had been severely lacerated, but her hand was still gripping her fine rapier tightly. Behind Akihiko, Minato was lying on his back, his head tilted toward him. The onlooking boy felt something sick drop to the bottom of his stomach as he spotted a severed white mechanical arm gripping the lapels of Minato's uniform. He could not tell whether the boy was alive or dead, but his eyes were open and looking accusingly at him. _

"_Let us help you." Akihiko said listlessly, his hand lingering on Mitsuru's vacant face._

_He couldn't scream, his throat was scratched dry. He looked down and found himself in a puddle of blood and assorted parts of his own flesh. He was gasping for breath, empty of fluid and nearly empty of insides, but the pain continued to wash over him as Castor made a slow and steady waltz for Akihiko and Minato._

* * *

Fuuka woke with a harsh rasp while clutching her chest. Her head was reeling; whatever _that _was, it wasn't a dream. Fuuka blinked the tears away, and felt the remnants of their salty trails mix with the fine layer of perspiration. Her small hands were still tenaciously gripping the edges of her nightgown around her chest.

"Oh. . . that was awful." She murmured, looking around her room and taking comfort in its simple surrounding aura. Yes, it was awful, but it was also confusing and the pestilent, heavy feeling of the dream was lingering.

Fuuka looked over to her clock and made out the bold red digits reading 4:14 AM.

She loosened the grip on her chest and threw off her light, silk covers and made her way to the door, trying to shake the brooding feeling that was still weighing on her chest. Fuuka slipped out of her door, and silently made her way down the stairs. Though she was planning on a simple and quick trip to the kitchen, Fuuka came to a dead stop at the boy's floor.

Even as she stood there, Fuuka could feel the stagnant feeling grow denser and denser. Fuuka clutched at her chest again, not in pain, but in sheer panic. Fuuka was not an exceptionally intrepid explorer, but she had to act on what Lucia was telling her.

Fuuka slowly padded down the hallway, her eyes glued onto Shinjiro-senpai's door. As she neared the door, she became winded by the malaise growing thicker and thicker on her breast. The sounds of muffled moaning and a restless soul seeped through the door and became harsher and harsher with every step she took. Fuuka braced herself against the wall, thinking hard on what her next plan of action should be. It was obvious that Shinjiro-senpai was suffering, but what could she do? Should she wake him up? Fuuka had once heard that waking someone up from sleep-walking or from a severe dream could be jarring. What if Akihiko-senpai or Junpei-kun caught her in Shinjiro-senpai's room? Or worse. . . what if Mitsuru-senpai caught her? Fuuka swallowed hard at that thought. A sharp yelp from the adjoining room pulled Fuuka back to reality.

Fuuka sighed softly. Of course she was going to go in, there was never any doubt about that. She would just have to figure out everything else as it came. She took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped into the darkened room.

Fuuka's eyes instantly moistened when she saw the state Shinjiro-senpai was in. He had nearly ripped his blankets to shreds, and in the areas he hadn't shredded, he had perforated with his feet and fists. His right hand was snarled in his hair, while his left hand was fisted around his pillow. As for Shinjiro-senpai's face, it reflected what Fuuka had seen in the dream. Every corner, wrinkle, and pore of his face was wrought in anguish. Shinjiro-senpai was grunting and huffing as though he were trying to keep himself from falling into pieces. Fuuka brought a trembling hand to her mouth as she took step after cautious step to Shinjiro-senpai's bed.

Fuuka couldn't stand to see him suffer like this; she had to wake him up.

"Sh-Shinjiro-senpai?" Fuuka attempted meekly, pinching her lip with her thumb and pointer finger.

Shinjiro let off another shattering scream, causing Fuuka to jump back a few steps.

He was going to wake the entire dorm up if Fuuka didn't do something quickly. Fuuka took in another deep breath and gave a determined sigh.

Fuuka took a step up to Shinjiro's bedside.

* * *

_Akihiko and Minato lay dead to his side. Shinjiro's dry heaving and sobbing had done nothing to slow Castor's rage. There was nothing left to do but wait for his turn to die. Shinjiro looked up, emptied of every organ, every ounce of blood, and every emotion but hatred and fear. _

_Once again, Castor rose above him and aimed his steed at where Shinjiro's heart used to be. Shinjiro opened his mouth to say something to his dark half, to scream at him, to tear him apart limb by limb-_

"_Please. . ." _

_Shinjiro heard the soft voice echo and reverberate off the walls of his citadel prison. _

"_Wake up. . ." The mellifluous implored gracefully. Shinjiro looked for the source, but could not find it anywhere._

_Shinjiro's legs pulled him up into a standing position. Castor sank lower and lower until he was mere feet above Shinjiro. _

* * *

Fuuka took the softening lines on Shinjiro's face as encouragement that her words were helping him find his way out of that horrible place. In a bold move, Fuuka leaned over Shinjiro and put her hand on his forehead.

* * *

_Shinjiro felt a cool hand graze his forehead. A sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins, and the legs that were shaking moments ago locked tightly together, and Shinjiro shot out an arm and gripped his persona by throat-_

* * *

Fuuka made a soft whimper as her hands immediately went to the hand that was gripping her throat. He wasn't throttling her, but he certainly had a hold on her, and he was tightening it by the second. What was most unsettling to Fuuka was not his potentially lethal hand on her throat nor was it the aggressive half-sitting position he had lurched up into, but it was his eyes. The second his hand went to Fuuka's throat, Shinjiro's eyes flew open.

He was still asleep, so Fuuka had to be extremely careful.

As she stifled her trembling, Fuuka placed her hands delicately on Shinjiro's face, and when his eyes revealed nothing, Fuuka leaned into Shinjiro and put her forehead on his. Shinjiro's breathing quickened, and his hold on Fuuka's throat began bordering on choking.

"Look at me." Fuuka squeezed out a firm voice she didn't know she had.

* * *

_Castor vanished. In his place was Fuuka Yamagishi, who was now standing before him, looking slightly nervous, but extremely concentrated. Shinjiro retracted his arm quickly from her throat, but she didn't seem to notice the difference. As soon as Fuuka arrived, the grisly scene dropped out from under him._

"_Sleep." She ordered steadily._

_Shinjiro blinked, and opened his eyes to a soft, quiet, black nothingness._

* * *

Shinjiro fell back instantly on his bed, leaving Fuuka thoroughly shaken and touching her throat. After taking a moment to make sure Shinjiro-senpai's breathing stayed deep and even, Fuuka slowly turned away and softly clicked the door shut behind her. Once out of Shinjiro-senpai's room, Fuuka quickly and oh-so-quietly escaped from the boy's floor, back to the girl's floor, and into her room. Once there, she took a moment to breathe before jumping into her bed and throwing the covers over her head.

* * *

The next morning, Fuuka came jostling down the stairs but walked carefully into the dining room and greeted Yukari with a cheerful 'good morning'

"Oh, good morning!" Yukari replied, smiling. Her smile quickly fell, though, as she gaped at Fuuka's neck. Fuuka followed her gaze and looked down self-consciously at her neck which had been imprinted with five small yet distinct bruises in the shape of fingertips.

"Fuuka. . ." Yukari murmured, snapping her cell phone shut and putting it on the bartop. "What happened?!" she said in a harsh whisper, obviously concerned. The two tall figures of Minato and Shinjiro-senpai lingering in the kitchen doorway drew Fuuka's eyes away from Yukari for a moment. Fuuka quickly brought a defensive hand to her neck and tried to stop the fiersome blush that was flowering on her cheeks.

"Oh. . . t-this?"

Yukari nodded.

"Uh, yeah, THAT! What happened?!" Yukari pressed, getting up and prying at Fuuka's hand.

Shinjiro looked over at her with a disinterested expression, while Minato left his place at the doorframe and walked over to Fuuka and Yukari with a slight frown as Yukari managed to wrench Fuuka's hand away from her neck.

"Oh my god!" Yukari said unbelievably, looking from the bruises to Fuuka with intense worry. "Fuuka. . . these look awful, what happened to you?"

"I. . . I was choking on something yesterday and I-I couldn't get it out, and I guess I was just holding my throat so hard that I guess I gave myself some bruises."

There was a silence as Fuuka looked at her friends shakily. Yukari was looking at her like she was waiting for someone else to point out how ridiculous that sounded, Minato was looking at her with subtle yet deep concern, and Shinjiro. . . was blank, as usual.

"Fuuka, are those girls bothering you again?" Minato leaned in to ask the question under his breath.

"No! No no, really, it's okay- really!" Fuuka said excitedly. "It's fine." She said, trying to erase the last speck of doubt from their faces.

Yukari sighed softly before shrugging.

"If you say so." She said, defeated. "You still wanna go to a movie today?" Yukari added, getting up off of her seat. Fuuka nodded. "Yes, let's go."

Yukari and Fuuka bid everyone a goodbye, and quickly left. Minato and Shinjiro were left standing looking at each other with odd expressions.

* * *

From then on, Shinjiro subconciously began to watch Fuuka.

That night at Tarturus, he had hoped Minato would skip over him so he could watch her offer the team tactical support. His wish was granted, and he veiled casual curiosity of the junior with his usual ambivalence.

Strictly speaking, her support abilities seemed to be all-encompassing. Anything they came across, she could analyze, break down, and hand on a silver platter to Minato and Co. Fuuka keep tabs on everyone and threw suggestions out to each of them, reminding them to watch each other's back or get the hell out of there (his words of course, not hers), she handled it all. She would crack when things got serious, but the important thing was that she wouldn't break. They'd corner Relics, Knights, and even the Reaper on occasion, but she would keep them together despite the enormity of reality.

He continued to watch her.

Outside of Tarturus, Fuuka remained a supportive figure. She kept her allies close, keeping tabs on them out of careful concern and not in a nagging sort of way. Fuuka would glance up from her books to snatch a look at a tired Minato, a waning Mitsuru, or a disgruntled Yukari. Shinjiro wasn't sure how she did it, but she could gauge whether or not they needed to be talked to or whether they should be left alone.

Fuuka loved classic Japanese literature, plants, animals, music, painting, and food. She was awful at cooking, she smelled like those weird lilies Shinjiro would see at flower shop at Iwatodai station, her parents were fucking insane, and she was painfully shy.

Even after he knew everything about her, he still watched her.

Shinjiro began to idly wonder where those bruises she had a few weeks ago had come from. Aki had told him that the girls that had previously bullied Fuuka had laid off, and Shinjiro hadn't noticed, nor could he imagine anyone calling Fuuka their enemy (or calling her anything but a ghost, for that matter).

The more he watched her, the more miffed Shinjiro became with himself. What the hell had gotten into him?! Of course she had been lying when she told them that those bruises came from her own hands, the damn things were twice the size of Fuuka's fingers, and even if they had blossomed and spread, there was still no way her fingertips could be that far apart. Why should he get so sore assed about her lies?

Because she doesn't lie.

These thoughts poked and prodded Shinjiro as he looked at Fuuka stirring what was supposed to be curry (looking more like cereal) with a fierce concentration. Apparently, with all her abilities and talents for scoping out life and signs of life, Fuuka couldn't detect Shinjiro's presence a mere four feet away.

"Yamagishi." Shinjiro declared.

Shinjiro's voice caught Fuuka just as she was moving the pot over the open flame of the stove. With an alarmed yip, Fuuka's hand made contact with scorching heat and the pot's contents were splattered all over the kitchen.

Fuuka looked at Shinjiro as she bit down tearfully on her bottom lip. The tears started rolling down her face as she clutched her damaged hand with other usable appendage.

"Yes?" Fuuka squeaked, trying to be tough in front of the resident badass.

Shinjiro looked at her like she was a harebrained maniac.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get some ice on that!" He roared at her, pointing at the fridge. Fuuka winced at his bark, and scurried over to the freezer.

"Oh-oh no- that's my fault, please don't-" Fuuka cooed as Shinjiro gave a grumble and picked up a wet rag to start mopping up the spoiled liquid.

"Will you shut up and get some god damned ice on that?!" Shinjiro boomed at her again.

Fuuka nodded quickly and bit down slightly harder on her lip. After grabbing a few ice cubes and clutching them in her hand, she quietly nabbed a wet rag and tip toed over to Shinjiro. Fuuka dropped down on her knees without a sound and started helping Shinjiro clean up her mess. Shinjiro turned to her to tell her to just get the hell out of here when he saw her holding the handful of ice cubes.

Shinjiro paused his cleaning while he covered his mouth with a flat hand.

Fuuka looked petrified.

Shinjiro was obviously collecting himself and trying to remain calm in the face of his grandeur irritation.

"Yamagishi. First, you put the ice in a towel or bag and _then_ you put it on your hand." He strained, every word cracking with impatience.

Fuuka looked at him apologetically before getting up slowly and putting the ice into a small towel.

"I'm sorry." She offered looking down at Shinjiro.

"Not your fault." Shinjiro mumbled under his breath as he wringed the last of the botched curry out of the rag. Fuuka stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen as he finished up and went to leave.

"Um- what were you going to ask me, Shinjiro-senpai?" Fuuka added timidly. Shinjiro froze with his back to her.

He'd almost forgotten.

Shinjiro paused.

"Forget it." He said lowly before picking his heel up and walking out.

Fuuka gave an aggravated puff and her soft features fell into a scowl.

"Well, then what did I burn my hand for?" Fuuka pouted, confused.

* * *

_Takeba screaming. Minato's dead eyes. Akihiko holding Mitsuru's prone figure. Castor- the blood, flesh, bones-_

Fuuka shot up out of her slumber, her eyes darting wildly around as she attempted to reconcile reality and Shinjiro's dream that she was experiencing. How awful for him, she thought, having that same dream over again. Fuuka gave deflated sigh as she threw the covers and recognized the heavy despair settling once again in her chest.

Fuuka peered down the hallway of the girl's floor, before determining the coast was clear and silently making her way to the boy's floor. As Fuuka stepped unto the landing of the stairs she felt a distinct chill fly down her spine. Fuuka shook it off and continued on to Shinjiro-senpai's door. As she edged closer to his closed door, Fuuka detected the familiar moaning and cringing inside the room.

Summoning the courage to once again help her teammate in need, Fuuka stealthily opened the door and poured herself into the room with Shinjiro. She hesitated only for a moment before approaching his bed and putting her hand on his forehead.

"_Shinjiro-senpai."_

_Shinjiro looked up from his puddle of blood and gore. Behind the ascending form of the looming Castor, Fuuka had appeared. _

Shinjiro's eyes opened and he bolted up in bed.

_Shinjiro raised himself off of his knees and met Castor's ravenous gaze. _

"_Please. . . wake up."_

_Castor turned to Fuuka and pulled the reins on his black horse, aiming an attack at the small girl. Shinjiro gave a savage cry before gathering all of his strength and throwing his fist at Castor._

Fuuka's reflexes were not as lightning quick as her battle-minded friends, but Shinjiro-senpai's arm was pulled back just long enough for Fuuka to dodge the brunt of the punch. She wasn't fast enough, however, to avoid being clipped in the chin by Shinjiro-senpai's stinging fist.

The connection of flesh immediately severed the dark dream, and Shinjiro jolted awake just in time to reach out his arms to steady a toppling Fuuka Yamagishi. Shinjiro's breathing intensified as he pulled her into a sitting position on the bed next to him. Fuuka looked at him with wide frightened eyes as he gripped her shoulders tightly.

He stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds.

"Fuuka." he panted looking at her, his eyes so wide that Fuuka thought they were going to pop right out of his sockets. "Shit." He groaned softly, rubbing his face with both hands.

"Are you okay?" Fuuka said in a rushed whisper, trying not to touch the red spot on the side of her face where she had been brushed by his fist.

Even though it was dark, Fuuka could swear Shinjiro-senpai was glaring at her. He suddenly threw the covers off himself and softly made his way to the closet where he pulled out a coat and shoved his feet into a sturdy pair of shoes. Shinjiro motioned for Fuuka to follow him. She heeded his call and allowed him to lead her furtively through the shadows of the dorm down to the main doors.

"What are we doing, senpai?" Fuuka asked in a low whisper, hugging her nightgown closely to herself feeling extremely self-aware. Thank goodness she had opted for the long sleeved cotton gown and the solid soled slippers instead of the flying toasters and bare feet.

"We're going for a little walk." Shinjiro nearly spat the words at her as he opened the door wide and motioned for her to go first.

Fuuka wavered for a bit as she felt the intensity of his anger fill the air.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Shinjiro narrowed his dark eyes on her.

"Let's go." He growled.

Fuuka nodded and stepped out into the night.

* * *

After Shinjiro shut the door behind them, he took the light jacket in his hand and shoved it at Fuuka as he briskly passed her. Fuuka looked down at the jacket with mild surprise, and when she looked back up at Shinjiro he was all ready halfway down the street. Fuuka stared at his disappearing figure and considered the idea that maybe he was so angry he'd forgotten all about her. Fuuka shook her head at this inane thought and jogged to catch up to him.

Fuuka couldn't help but notice how 'normal' Shinjiro-senpai looked tonight. He was wearing a simple white tee shirt and black pants. Of course, it was common sleepwear, but it still made Fuuka blush for some strange reason. Maybe because it was the first time she'd seen him look open.

His marching led them to Naganaki Shrine, where he finally slowed down enough for Fuuka to take a breather. Shinjiro stood with his back to her as he faced the shrine. Fuuka suddenly felt very out of place and awkward with him here.

"This jacket- I really don't need it, it's warm enough-" Fuuka started

"Don't be stupid. You're practically wearing a damn sheet." Shinjiro said acerbically, directing his gaze away from her.

Fuuka reddened suddenly and quickly tightened the jacket around her waist before sitting down submissively on a nearby bench. They sat in silence for a lengthy stretch of time. After staring at Shinjiro's back and not getting any sort of reply, Fuuka turned to look at the playground and gingerly touched the sensitive patch where Shinjiro's fist had grazed.

"Did I hurt you." Shinjiro asked rawly, still turned away from her.

Fuuka jumped at his voice and immediately dropped her hand.

"No-no you just barely knicked me, honestly." Fuuka said as calmly as possible.

Shinjiro turned away from the shrine and focused his dark eyes on Fuuka. Surprisingly, she didn't look away or tremble. Quite the opposite, actually, Fuuka's eyes penetrated the darkness between them and looked back at him anxiously waiting for him to say something else. Shinjiro kept his eyes on her as he walked toward her. He stopped as he was standing directly above her, looking down at her with obscure indifference.

"What were you doing in my room." Shinjiro asked in a husky voice.

Fuuka's eyes looked down at the ground quickly before chirping out a high reply.

"You were screaming in your sleep, so I came down-"

"Stop lying." Shinjiro began patiently.

Fuuka looked at him in mock shock, starting to shake a bit.

Shinjiro shook his head. "You don't grow up on the streets without learning a few things; like lying and knowing when someone is lying to you. You're lying to me, and you're terrible at it." His voice was escalating dangerously close to a conversational tone.

Fuuka gave a fragile sigh before swallowing.

"That nightmare you had. . . I guess I'll call it a nightmare. . . I had it too."

Fuuka was a assailed by Shinjiro's embittered expression as he glared down at her.

"What nightmare?"

Fuuka somehow found the strength to keep going despite the inhospitable tone in Shinjiro's voice.

"Your persona went mad. He-he was killing shadows, but the shadows. . ." Fuuka shook her head in horror as she recollected the macabre scenes. "They became us. . . your friends and. . ." Fuuka's voice was close to breaking before she stopped herself from saying anything more. She looked up, searching for Shinjiro's face but was met with his back once again.

Fuuka stood up and clasped her hands tightly to her chest.

"You were in such pain, senpai. I had to wake you up." Fuuka finished in a hushed tone.

Shinjiro turned around and took a few steps toward Fuuka, who scrunched her shoulders together and folded her lips tightly as he loomed over her. Fuuka looked up into his eyes and found them glittering perilously down at her.

"Those bruises on your neck. That was me." Shinjiro said plainly.

Fuuka shook her head.

"You were sleeping, it wasn't you-"

"It was me." Shinjiro said it in such a way that Fuuka was immediately silenced.

Shinjiro turned away from her and slowly walked back to the shrine and stared up at it, his arms hanging limply at his side. Fuuka was at a disadvantage, even though Shinjiro's guard was down and he was slightly more open, she couldn't seem to get any further.

Fuuka slowly approached his back.

"Senpai. . . whatever makes you see those things. I'd like to help, um. . . I'd like to help you." Fuuka had to force herself to speak in a murmur, anything louder was out of the question for her at the moment.

"They're just nightmares." Shinjiro rebutted shortly.

"No, that wasn't a nightmare." Fuuka said softly, feeling the strange tingle of confidence poking through. "If it was, then I'd be picking up everyone elses bad dreams too, but this was stronger and-and real." Fuuka rushed, walking over to his side and looking at his profile.

"It was like it was killing you-"

"Stop that." He snapped at her, causing her to pull back in hurt. Shinjiro sighed.

"I don't want you to waking me up or coming into my room like that again. If you do, I'll bring Kirijo in on it." Shinjiro pivoted away from the shrine and began slowly walking away from Fuuka.

Fuuka looked at his retreating form with mild defeat.

"I'm sorry, Shinjiro-senpai, I can't do that." Fuuka called, her voice cracking a bit.

Shinjiro stopped in his tracks, gritting his teeth.

"Whaddya mean, you can't do it. It's easy, you just stop!" He groaned, trying to smother the urge to bellow at her.

"No." Fuuka cowered, shaking her head sadly. "I-I have never experienced pain like that. . . I can't imagine what it must feel like to carry that. I-" Fuuka hesitated, trying to sound like she wasn't going to cry.

"I won't let someone I care about suffer like that." She finished as defiantly as she could.

"Agghhh!" Shinjiro groaned, feeling like he was talking to a garden-knome.

He whipped and promptly rounded on the recoiling girl. When Shinjiro was within shaking distance of Fuuka he pinned his arms stiffly to his sides and bowed close to Fuuka.

"I could get you kicked out of the dorms in a second." He hissed.

Fuuka, still wincing at Shinjiro's overbearing figure, nodded sadly.

"I know."

Shinjiro maintained his stance as his eyes roamed over Fuuka searchingly. Aki and Kirijo would never kick Fuuka out, firstly because she was so valuable to the team and secondly because she was just too damn sweet. Shinjiro was caught in a precarious situation. If he let Fuuka off the hook, she could reveal Shinjiro for what he really was to the rest of the group. She also ran the risk of getting seriously hurt.

Fuuka was waiting for him to bid her farewell so that he could return to the dorms and promptly inform Mitsuru-senpai of Fuuka's dubious activities. He didn't budge.

"Senpai-"

"You don't tell anyone about this." Shinjiro snarled softly.

Fuuka nodded.

"Of course." She said softly.

"You stay the hell out of my room-"

"But-"

"If your persona can pick up this thing, then it can intervene-"

"Intervene?" Fuuka repeated unsurely.

"What? You can analyze from 100 floors away but you can't wake me up from a floor away?" Shinjiro nipped.

"But I don't really know how to-to-"

"You'll learn." He said sternly.

Fuuka paused.

"I'll try, but-"

"But _what_?" Shinjiro balked.

"Well, it-it might take me a while to get the feel for it, so what happens if Lucia can't-"

"Fuck, _I don't know_, stand in my doorway and just throw shit at me until I wake up. Just, don't do it yourself. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry." Fuuka added tentatively.

Shinjiro growled.

"That's another thing; stop apologizing. It's really pissing me off. Don't _ever _apologize for your own actions. Got it?"

Fuuka nodded quickly.

"Okay."

Shinjiro bit his tongue for a moment and glared at her.

"And stop being so god damned accomodating. You want people like me to walk all over you?"

Fuuka couldn't help but smile.

"No." She said shyly.

Shinjiro was thrown off of his element by her affectionate and charming smile, but he quickly rolled it off and scoffed at her corrosively.

"Let's get the hell out of here. C'mon." Shinjiro uttered quickly.

Shinjiro motioned for Fuuka to lead the way, and the smile she gave him still lingered joyfully on her lips. Shinjiro frowned as he carefully followed a step or two behind Fuuka. He'd have to be careful with around her, she could peer into his heart without even knowing the extent of her ability. For now, he'd let her help him from under the table. Hopefully, she could prolong the oncoming attacks of Castor.


	4. Chapter 4

_He remembers the look in his eyes._

The searing defeat clashing with the fury of determination created a dense atmosphere of dignity.

He seen the shadow's movements from two blocks away as it crushed and swung at the unseen target below. When Akihiko had arrived, the shadow had dissolved into a cloud of smoke which was dissipating silently above. Below were the remains of a neck-to-neck battle, a few tipped over flower vases and a dying soldier.

He had rushed to the canine's fallen form as his heart-wrenched at the tragic sight. Akihiko's hands hovered over the dog's bloodstained fur, and as he went to give the dog a reassuring pat on the head he was greeted with a soft warning snarl.

Akihiko's eyes widened as he looked into the dark crimson orbs of the dog below him.

Immediately, Akihiko heeded the message and retreated to his haunches, keeping a close eye on the injured dog without touching him.

Without skipping a beat, Akihiko had summoned Fuuka and S.E.E.S to the scene of the incident, and was encouraged when they had urgently replied to his request.

The hardest part came next, for if there was one thing Akihiko Sanada didn't have, it was patience.

As the dog's fierce expression dissolved into a relaxed acceptance, Akihiko couldn't help but gnash his teeth in frustration. Victory remained sweet and succulent to the injured entity below him, and it was clear that if the soldier was going to die, he was ready to die alone.

Just as Akihiko was sure the light was dimming in his eyes, S.E.E.S arrived at the scene. The dog immediately reacted to the presences of Takeba and Yamagishi, causing Akihiko to snort in disdain. Obviously, as demonstrated by his wagging tail and efforts to pull himself up, the dog had a soft spot for the female sex. Nevertheless, Akihiko reasoned, a warrior in turmoil should be given every last drop of honored attention, no matter the outcome.

After they speedily rushed him back to the dorm, Akihiko assisted Mitsuru in rushing him to a Kirijo family friend, who happened to be a veteranarian. They had left him there with the resolve that his fate was now in someone else's hands; something Akhiko was never okay with.

After he learned from Mitsuru that Koromaru's condition was stable, Akihiko ceased to be uncomfortable. While passively listening to the worried clucking of Yukari and Fuuka, he slept well knowing Koromaru to be a formidable warrior, and that a such warrior would not simply give out under a few serious wounds.

When the warrior returned and began to live with them, Akihiko felt a strange emotion.

Envy.

Was it the way Mitsuru fondly cooed to him as she attached his evoker enabled collar?

_Hmpth_.

Was it the way he felt unbridled joy at the mere drop of a noodle or piece of chicken?

_Uh. . ._

Maybe it was his smoothness with the opposite sex, something Akihiko seemed to lack.

_Tch._

Whatever it was, it was petty and not worth Akihiko's time.

So he petted him when he was there, fed him table scraps when Mitsuru wasn't looking, took him to Naganaki shrine, and covered his tail in Tarturus.

* * *

Akihiko sat hunched at his desk with his hands folded in his lap. His eyes watched the dimming light outside of his window with a helpless frown. He glanced down at his open books half-heartedly before looking back out his window.

The funeral was tomorrow.

A soft and precise knock intruded on Akihiko's respite.

Akihiko turned to the door with mild annoyance before he grunted to the trespasser to enter.

"Akihiko-san." Aigis said delicately. It's strange, though she was a machine, her voice was laced with the most delicate sympathy Akihiko had ever heard. Akihiko waved it off as he looked belatedly down at the canine at her heels.

Koromaru was biting down on his plain leather leash and looking at Akhiko expectantly.

Akihiko looked down at him with a bored expression.

"Akihiko-san, Koromaru is upset." Aigis explained.

"Huh, funny. He doesn't look upset."

Aigis looked down at Koromaru.

"He is very upset that you neglected to walk him."

"Tell him I'm sorry, but I have some other things on my mind right now." Akihiko said tonelessly, turning back to his book and pretending to read his open books.

A soft growl made Akihiko slowly turn around with widened eyes. Koromaru's crimson orbs were squinted in impatience, and Akihiko could almost see the holes his sharp teeth were poking through the leash.

"Can't someone else do it?" He whined, looking desperately at Aigis.

"Akihiko-san, I would advise you to take Koromaru for his walk." Aigis said darkly, furrowing her brow.

"He says that he will not allow you to skirt your responsibilities without tearing you open and ripping out the contents of your innards one by one with his jaws. If you still refuse, he will ignore your futile pleas for mercy and commence to bite off your nose, lips, and eyes. He says he will leave your ears so that you can hear yourself scream-"

As Aigis translated the images Koromaru sent her, she gazed down at him in listless fascination.

Koromaru was looking at Akihiko while happily wagging his tail and retaining a slight squint.

"Furthermore, he will intentionally leave your vital organs so that you may feel him naw off your leg-"

"All right!" Akihiko relented in a high voice, looking at the furry animal with unbridled horror.

"Geez!" He added, wearily letting his head fall unto his hands without taking his shocked expression away from Koromaru.

Aigis suddenly seemed relieved.

* * *

Akihiko wore a distinct pout as he shuffled alongside a jovial Koromaru. The dog walked him effortlessly to Naganaki Shrine, where upon arrival, Akihiko scoffed.

Normally, he didn't mind taking Koromaru here since the latter likes to play and Akihiko got a kick out of watching his frolicking.

This week is different.

Akihiko didn't like superstitions, traditions, myths, or any of the like. Especially when someone, his brother, had just left the confines of this world. Maybe there was a heaven, but even if there was, Shinji would beat Akihiko to a pulp if the latter participated in any of that bullshit for his sake.

Fuuka and Yukari had kept asking Akihiko to go to the shrine to pray or meditate over their loss of their comrade, and now, after all of his hard work politely grunting out 'no's', Akihiko couldn't help but feel deceived by the small furry dog.

Koromaru yapped happily as Akihiko let the leash slip out of his hands and the cheery animal pranced and jostled about him in a merry fashion. Akihiko ignored Koromaru's joyful demeanor and plopped down on a nearby bench wearily.

Koromaru was rolling in the sanctity of the grass when he noticed that Akihiko was not wrestling with him or chasing him. Koromaru gave an annoyed grunt as he rolled up off of the ground, shook the excess grass off of his back, and made his way over to the bench where Akihiko was sitting.

Koromaru panted and looked at Akihiko with a hopeful wagging tail. When Akihiko's eyes looked past Koromaru's and into some indiscerible dimension lying just beyond Koromaru's figure.

Koromaru gave a distinct yap at Akihiko, and his target jolted up in surprise.

Koromaru merely looked at him expectantly.

Akihiko sighed.

"Sorry." he muttered awkwardly, bringing a hand nervously over to Koromaru's head and patting it momentarily before retracting it and folding his hands.

"It looks like rain." Akihiko thought aloud, gazing emptily up at the sky.

Koromaru's eyes narrowed.

That. Was. _It_.

The last staw had finally been pulled, and the extremely patient Koromaru (who could handle three year olds pulling his ears and spilling sticky ice cream on his fur) lost his patience with this dawdling fool.

Letting off a low growl, Koromaru ignored the look of moderate surprise on Akihiko's face and firmly nipped the latter's folded hands. Akihiko let out a satisfying grunt of surprise before pulling back in confusion.

"What's your problem today!? Damn!" Akihiko yelled, shaking his hand loose.

Koromaru replied by lowering himself on the ground in a clearly aggressive stance. He let out another warning snarl at Akihiko before giving a powerful leap in his direction. Akihiko's reflexes, dulled by grief, were slowed so much that he felt Koromaru's teeth drag on the ends of his sleeve as he flew up out of his seat.

Akihiko hit the ground rolling and he looked down at his shoulder to find four neat lines ripped open on the shoulder of his shirt.

"Tch, dammit! What the-"

Akihiko's eyes widened as he saw the shadow of Koromaru swiftly emerging from the open sky above him. Without any time to recover from the suprise attack, Akihiko rolled quickly to his left and shot up off of the ground just in time to escape a brutal pinning by the dog.

As Akihiko's knees slid back on the playground and kicked up an impressive wave of sand, he could hear the dog huffing and snarling heavily.

When the sand from the playground settled and Akihiko stopped skidding, he was once again met with Koromaru's eyes. The eyes differed from the dying warrior and the playful companion, however. These eyes were ablaze with some sort of unseeable resolve.

Koromaru was once again posed in a pouncing position, waiting eagerly for Akihiko to come.

Akihiko could feel the slight sting of his fingers against the harsh grains of sand as he pondered his current situation. Obviously, he had done something to instigate this, but there was little to no point in determining that now.

The sky rattled off a clap of thunder and an onslaught of water began to pour down.

Akihiko furrowed his eyebrows and gave a dark smirk as the rain matted his hair to his forehead.

"You wanna go? Then _LETS GO!_"

Koromaru gave a robust bark and Akihiko sprinted up off of his knees and began to charge the dog. What he was going to do when he approached him or how to attack, Akihiko wasn't sure. He was just a dog after all-

_Shit._

Akihiko fell the ground in a heap and looked down at his mid-thigh, where Koromaru had torn past the fabric and sunk his dulled fangs into his flesh. A modest portion of blood was quietly seeping out.

Koromaru let off a fast tempo of harsh and low barks.

The rain began to beat down harder on Akihiko.

_Too damn slow!_

Akihiko balled up a fist and shook the excess rain water from his brow.

"Not done yet!" He cracked out as he ordered his legs to get up once again.

Koromaru snarled as he launched once again in a fly by style attack. Through the rain, Akihiko could barely gauge his opponent's rampant speed.

A flash of white seared by him.

Akihiko extended an arm and firmly pulled a leg out from under his attacker. He flinched when he heard the resounding yipe, but his regrets were short lived. A sharp pivot allowed Koromaru to curl his noble head under him and solidly butt Akihiko in the stomach.

Akihiko's body had surely become hardened and calloused after years and years of taking hits. His speed and reflexes were honed to a point. There was no lack of strength in his hits.

_However-_

Akihiko folded over as he soared back onto the hard pavement. The ground welcomed him with a crack and a rough skid.

He froze on the ground with his arms and legs sprawled out defenselessly.

_Get up, Sanada Akihiko _– resonated something buried in Akihiko.

Akihiko purposefully ignored it.

All he could focus on was the wide open heavens above him and the rain that was persistently hammering his bleeding forehead. Out of his peripheral vision, Akihiko saw his rain-drenched opponent slowly siddle up to Akihiko.

Akihiko remained entranced by the rain, which was intensifying by the second. He did not feel Koromaru climb on top of Akihiko's heaving chest, nor did he hear the dog's soft whimper.

"Shit," Akihiko said simply.

* * *

_He remembers the look in his eyes._

_A few muffled droplets of blood dripped down to his feet as he stumbled away, his back to S.E.E.S._

"_. . . This is the way it should be." He said simply, looking back at Akihiko for just a mere moment._

_Shinjiro stopped, and then dropped dead._

_A dying warrior. . . dies alone. . . _

* * *

"Just like you were ready to, huh." Akihiko murmured down at the lying Koromaru, who had placed his paws on Akihiko's collarbone and was resting his head patiently between them.

"Well you know what I think of that!? I think that's BULLSHIT, DAMMIT!" Akihiko screamed to the listless rain, which continued to pour down despite Akihiko's outcry.

Koromaru remained still, waiting.

"_Fuck _dying alone! _Fuck _that! I don't give a shit about honor and a respectful way to die! I won't let anyone, _anyone_ die like that!"

Akihiko's sobs escaped his lips while the feeling of the drenching rain mingled with his own blood and tears.

Koromaru remained perched on Akihiko's chest as the boy sobbed and sobbed.

Slowly, the dog began to wag his tail.

* * *

Akihiko cautiously opened the door and ambled in behind a wet and yet still jubliant Koromaru. Thankfully, the lounge was vacant and Akihiko gave a sigh of relief as he wearily unhooked Koromaru from his leash.

"Koro-san. You have returned. I am glad."

Akihiko turned around to see Koromaru happily greeting Aigis as she stiffly patted Koromaru on the head.

Akihiko nodded at her briefly before limping his way toward the stairs.

"Akihiko-san?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder half-heartedly, still drenched in rain.

"Koromaru says you envy his resolve, and says that's all right as long as you find your own. He may have been able to beat a little out of you, but he has not the time nor the patience to babysit you as such. Akihiko-san, Koromaru knew you were a stalwart warrior the moment he saw you. He wishes only to see you become greater. The rest is up to you."

Akihiko's eyes darkened, and he continued up the stairs without saying a word.

* * *

It was only after the birth of Caeser did Akihiko realize that it was his unawakened persona's voice calling out to him to get up after his defeat by Koromaru.

At Tarturus, Akihiko unsheathed Caeser before Koromaru's eyes and was met with a quaint wagging tail. Satisified with this reaction, Akihiko was about to leave the tower after they had finished, when Aigis stopped him.

"Akihiko-san. Koromaru wants to know if you 'get it' now."

Akihiko looked down at the panting dog with a serious smile.

"Yeah. Yeah I get it."


	5. Chapter 5

Yukari was not a fan of roughly half the girls in her class.

Her sharp charisma and popularity often served as a double-edged sword. Sure, she was never left wanting for fun on the weekends and if she ever needed a date, all she needed to do was lift a few fingers in the direction of one of her male classmates. It wasn't all clear sailing though.

Yukari idly touched her lips with gloss, vaguely noting the weariness of her reflection in the girl's bathroom. A horde of girls were lined up beside her against the mirror, all of them aggressively flipping their hair and rubbing blush on their cheeks.

Yukari suddenly felt very out of place.

"You check out the new kid. . . uh . . .Arisato?"

"Eh, yeah. He's pretty cute," replied one of the girls who was applying mascara.

Yukari looked down at her shoes thoughtfully as the conversation unfolded.

"Not much of a talker," said another girl

The girls exploded into random laughter.

"A little mopey, too."

"Didn't his parents die?"

The bathroom walls ruthlessly drained the remnants of the girls laughter.

"Yeah. I think so."

"I can't even imagine. . ."

"He seems so . . . cold."

"I think," Yukari decided to politely slice her way into this conversation lest she spend the rest of her day thinking of nasty things she could have said. "that maybe you should talk to someone before saying things like that."

All eyes were on Yukari. The easy going and bubbly junior rarely spoke so gravely, and none of her classmates wanted to see this seriousness last a second longer.

"You're right, Yukari-chan," said one of the girls, nodding solemnly.

A hushed overture of apologies soon followed, and Yukari smiled sweetly as she dropped her lipstick into her purse, zipped it up, and briskly left the bathroom.

* * *

He was sitting alone, staring down at his bland lunch; his face masked by the stylized cut of his hair.

His first day back at school.

It must be rough.

"Yukaaaaaarrriiiii!! Anyone home?!"

The petite burnette nearly dropped her lunch tray when her friend Miyako loudly clapped her hands in front of Yukari's face.

"AH! Geez! What!?" Yukari shrieked.

Miyako looked at her with an upturned eyebrow.

"What's with you today, girl?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

Yukari shook her head reassuringly, but without taking her eyes off of Minato, who still had not moved.

"It's nothing. . . hey, Miyako, um I think I'm going to go sit with the new guy today. . . he looks kind of down."

Miyako followed Yukari's worried line of sight to the slouching new student, but then smirked.

"Oh, I get it," Miyako said slyly. She followed this statement with a shiftly tongue click and a wink.

"Oh God, you're not buying into those rumors too are you?" Yukari asked, horrified.

Miyako looked surprised.

"Rumors, huh? Well, I was just joking, but if there's rumors I'm missing out on, yeah, you should go sit over there so I can gossip! See ya!" Miyako skipped off, leaving Yukari with one more mess to deal with.

* * *

Minato looked thoughtfully at his green beans.

Did they come from a can?

Of course they did.

Maybe they had a garden.

Minato wanted a garden, brimming with life.

Stupid cans.

"Hey."

A slightly meek, mostly upbeat voice caused Minato to gently lift his head.

"Oh, hello." He said, offering her a controlled smile.

Yukari grinned nervously.

"Can I sit down?" She asked, holding her tray high on her chest a bit defensively.

Minato was taken aback a bit as demonstrated by his raised eyebrows. He nodded, and raised his hand softly to the seat across from him.

"Please do."

Yukari silently settled herself down as a sudden feeling of intimidation began to culminate around her.

Minato was giving her his undivided attention.

"Are you warm?"

"Huh?"

"You're flushed."

"Oh," Yukari brought a hand softly against her cheek and was surprised by its warmth.

"I guess so. . . so how's your first day back?"

Minato gave a postive nod.

"It's a good school. Everyone has been really nice." He said succinctly, his eyes still bridging the gap and politely boring into Yukari.

Yukari felt at a loss in talking to him. He didn't waste words like her classmates did, a stupefying road block for her. Yukari knew how to engage in senseless diatribes about boys and archery and movies, but Minato made her choke with formality for some strange reason.

Minato frowned.

"Are you okay?" He asked delicately.

Yukari nodded.

"Mm-hm. Just a little beat, but I can't complain compared to what you can handle." Yukari smiled. She saw Minato look down, the softest line of discomfort appearing on his face. Yukari pounced.

"What's wrong?" Yukari asked, a bit too urgently.

Minato's eyes flickered from Yukari to his plate for a few moments.

"How much do you remember from that night?"

Yukari froze.

"I remember failing you miserably." She said sardonically, masking her inability to meet his sober eyes with an ironic smile.

"That's not what I meant." Minato corrected gently.

Yukari couldn't help but feel impressed with her own bravery in attempting to avoid it, even though she was fully aware that she couldn't put it past him.

"I saw your persona, which is what you mean, right?"

Minato nodded.

"Orpheus."

"No."

Minato's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I saw what came out of Orpheus too."

Now it was his time to freeze.

"I see."

Minato's otherwise mellow disposition sank back into the far reaches of his yes and in its place came a terrible coldness and a tightly- knitted brow.

Yukari hesitantly pushed herself forward on her elbows and leaned to Minato.

"Hey," she murmured, bravely stretching her hand out and covering Minato's wrist.

He looked up at her in mild surprise, but Yukari did not retract under the suffocating pressure of his glance.

"You act like it's a bad thing." She offered cheerily.

Minato cocked his head at her unsurely, wanting to interrupt her-

"We're teammates now, you know. We're supposed to know about each other. Hopefully, tonight, I can show you what I can do." Yukari gave a warm smile.

"I think I'd like to show you who I really am." She continued, blushing at the cheesiness of her statement.

Minato took her in for a moment, a million fragmented thoughts racing through his mind. Could she really be so naïve? Had she not seen the monstrosity that had dictated his performance, the same monstrosity that had saved her life (ironically) in him?

Minato nodded, unsmiling.

No, she had seen it. Otherwise she would not be so eager to share with him her persona.

Yukari looked at him encouragingly.

* * *

It was imperative they (she) stay calm.

Yukari wanted nothing more than to find the closest escape route and just get the heck out of this disgusting tower, but she knew she could not do that, not without finding Junpei and Akihiko-senpai first.

She and Minato sped through the labyrinth of Tarturus, keeping conversation short and urgency on top.

"Minato- let's split up." Yukari offered, still running by his side with a few feet separating them.

"Out of the question." Minato replied, his voice slightly fringed with impatience.

"Urrrgh, don't be a jerk and listen to me! We can cover more ground if we separate-"

"Seems familiar, Yukari. Like it got us into this mess."

"_Just freaking listen to me_-"

"Can you two hear me?" Mitsuru's voice suddenly erupted onto the scene causing the two to stop their running.

"Where are the others?" Minato asked immediately.

A crescendo of static interference cut Mitsuru's voice out except for a few words.

"-Both unconcious."

Yukari snapped her head over to Minato, a seething glare occupying her face. Minato was looking at the ground in front of him with his eyes closed and his eyebrows pushed together in deep conflict.

He was making a decision.

"We stay on the same floor."

"All right." In a breath, Yukari had fled in the opposite direction. Minato waited for her footsteps to dissolve entirely before he stepped forward slowly, and then pushed himself up against the wall, feeling the shadow on the opposite side.

* * *

Yukari hit a corner and whipped around the side.

Junpei.

Oh God.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried out as she let her bow hang loosely by her side as she dashed over to his motionless body.

"Junpei, wake up!" She yelled urgently. Yukari put down her bow and arrows and fumbled around her person for a revival bead but found none. In addition to his discouraging discovery, Yukari also found no trace of medical powder or medicine or any kind of supplement. She had been caught empty handed. Junpei's shoulder had been torn open, and while the injury was cause for concern, it wasn't life threatening.

_Don't panic, don't panic_.

"Takeba!" Mitsuru's voice rang out, static embedded in the background.

"Senpai- I found Junpei, he's unconcious, I have _nothing_ on me, _nothing_!"

"Takeba. . . retreat immediately . . . . four. . . incoming!"

Yukari didn't need to ask Mitsuru for a repeat, but there was no way in hell she was getting up and leaving.

She quickly and shakily reached out for her bow and nocked an arrow into place. The darkness began to encircle her, and Yukari felt her breathing become difficult due to the smothering feeling that was descending upon her.

The arrow was aligned with her eye-

_There!_

She let the arrow fly.

Yukari was rewarded with a shrill screech on the opposite end of the floor. An elegant mother, slothfully balancing on a couch (now with an arrow jutting out of her torso) edged nearer in silence. She was followed by another elegant mother. Yukari's periphereal vision identified two crazed knights, slowly seeping on to the scene.

_Breathe, Yukari, keep breathing, stupid!_

Yukari's hand, which she did not recognize as being part of her partially immobilized body, instinctively shot to the holster wrapped around her thigh. She pulled the evoker quickly to her temple and gripped it tenaciously.

"Io, please help me!" Yukari bellowed loudly, pulling the trigger.

Io glided alongside her mistress, and pounded knights with magaru. Yukari's persona managed to knock one of the knights off of his horse, if only for a moment. Yukari seized theopportunity to nock another arrow in and pierce the knights armor.

The elegant mothers descended on her as she was doing this, putting Yukari at an immediate disadvantage due to her inability to perform close range attacks.

She dropped her bow in favor for her evoker, calling Io forth once again.

"Garu, Io!"

She appeared behind the elegant mothers, and blasted them off of their feet. Yukari scrambled for her bow, but was too slow to dodge the Zionga of the crazed knight.

Yukari cried out in pain as the shock rocked her, and her body buckled under the attack. She threw the evoker to her temple again, begging Io for relief in Dia.

It was granted, but at the price of an attack on one of the elegant mothers. Taking the upperhand of the battle, the mothers surrounded Yukari and both gave her simulatenous kicks to her stomach. Yukari gave a harsh wail as her evoker, and Io, slipped out of her fingers. She fell back flat on the ground beside Junpei.

Yukari wanted to lie back and give herself just a moment before throwing herself back in, but she knew she could not afford such laziness. Yukari popped back up and lurched forward for her bow and arrow. The foot of an elegant mother emerged from above her and mercilessly came down on Yukari's neck as she grasped her weapons.

Yukari screamed in pain. She blindly fumbled with the arrow she had collected and stabbed blindly above her.

_Lucky shot. _

The elegant mother screamed at the arrow lodged in her calf. Yukari was still gripping the arrow, and pushed it farther into the demonic shadow with a furious grit of her teeth. Only after the elegant mother retreated momentarily did Yukari snatch back her weapon and load her bow. She took one look at the crazed knights before bitterly acknowledging she had to take a gamble.

Yukari pulled out a second arrow and knocked it behind the first. She held her breath as she let them go, and was rewarded with the billow of smoke that signalled the monster's demise. Yukari began to revel in her victory when she heard the cruel giggling of the elegant mothers behind her. She twisted around to see them both trespassing over Junpei's body.

"NO!" Yukari screamed, feeling the awkward position of her body shake. She pulled out an arrow and nocked it into place.

The release never came.

Yukari felt something rip, a slight popping sound, and then the feeling of warm liquid on her shoulder. She looked over in confusion to see the lance of the remaining knight had punctured her flesh and was fastly pinning her to the cold floor beneath her.

Yukari gave a pained scream as she charged her arms in the task of removing the lance from her shoulder. They stubbornly obeyed grasping the lance, but cannot move beyond that simple action.

Yukari looked wildly around for her evoker, only to find it stretched out several feet behind her.

The knight removed the lance suddenly, eliciting a sharp cry from Yukari. She went to scramble away, but her actions were halted by the lance that was pushed against the skin of her throat. The knight relished in Yukari's fear, slowly pushing his weapon into her neck. A drizzle of blood escaped from her throat and Yukari froze-

A shattering noise broke Yukari's fear.

The pressure on her neck disappeared. She looked up to see not a knight, but Minato with his two-handed sword held in mid-air, where the lance and the knight used to be.

"Minato-" Yukari whispered in disbelief, wincing painfully as she brought herself up into a sitting position.

"Stay there, please." Minato requested as though he were talking to her at lunch again.

His evoker appeared in his hand, and he sent an icy glance to the two elegant mothers as he effortlessly twirled it through his fingers.

Yukari could almost feel the steady beat of his heart as he placed the evoker above his ear.

"Thanatos." A simple command.

Then, for the second time, Yukari's eyes widened in boundless fear as she saw Thanatos prepare to reap the souls of Minato's enemies. The death machine towered over the mothers humorously, as though the two couch-bound shadows had a chance in hell.

Yukari chanced a woozy look at Minato, and nearly fell back when she noticed his usually mournful blue eyes were dialated black. His lips, the ones that she had to labor over hours to upturn in a smile, were pressed into an alien smirk.

The sword master absorbed the stagnant fear of the recoiling mothers much too long for Yukari's taste, and she had to violently suppress the feeling of nausea that was climbing up her throat.

Thanatos gave an inhuman scream as he pounded the floor with fist and skewered the mothers on the point of his blade. Yukari cringed at both screams; that of Thanatos and those of the shadows.

"Yukari."

A salty tear dribbled out as Yukari unclenched her eyes and looked up at Minato, who was looking down at her with subtle concern. The void had left his eyes, and the smirk had disappeared with it.

"Junpei." Yukari stammered out.

Minato spared a small glance at his unconcious comrade.

"He's okay, they didn't get to him."

"Help him?" Yukari choked, cursing herself for sounding so weak.

"Yes."

Minato applied the revival bead, and Junpei groggily got up and greeted Minato with a glazed over 'hey'.

Junpei looked at Yukari and his face fell.

"Yuka-tan, shit! What happened to your shoulder?"

Yukari couldn't help but feel relieved when her primary annoyance piqued her irriation again. She didn't bother answering his rhetorical question, for it was rhetorical once Junpei realized what had happened during his unconciousness.

"Junpei, take this revival bead and take care of Akihiko-senpai, he's not far from here, just a couple corners on your left."

"Gotcha."

As Junpei hustled out of the vicinity, Yukari went to pull herself up from the ground when she felt Minato suddenly at her side, easing her up gently. She looked at him blankly for a moment before giving him a soft smile and quietly thanking him.

"Can you walk?" Minato asked, quickly looking her over as she leaned heavily on him.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry about it."

"You should try it first."

"Walking?" Yukari said dumbly.

Minato nodded, an amused smile curling his lips.

Yukari took a test step and felt her knee twist and begin to cave. Minato dutifully caught her around her waist and made a slight clicking noise with his lips.

"Oops." He said.

Yukari chuckled wearily, her eyes lightly going over his as she shyly put her arm around his shoulder. While they waited in the awkward silence for Junpei to return, Yukari could feel Minato frowning in discomfort beside her.

She hesitantly looked over to him, where she was met with Minato's apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry, Yukari."

"For saving my life." Yukari stated lowly.

Minato blinked.

"I'm sorry if I. . . frightened you."

Yukari couldn't muster an appropriate response, so she let her comforting nature take control.

"It's not that. . . it's just. . . it's different than what I remember."

Minato was silent for a moment.

"Me too." He added distantly.

"We should go." Yukari said softly, still clutching on to Minato.

"I'll carry you." Minato said easily.

"Uh-"

Minato looked at her without expression. He was patiently waiting for her to argue, but his cold and stoic look silenced her immediately.

". . . okay. . ."

Minato nodded, carefully avoiding her eyes as he leaned down and hooked his hand behind her knees and moved his other arm behind her shoulder.

Yukari found herself settling her head under Minato's chin as he carefully slunk along the walls of Tarturus, avoiding shadows as they moved along. They rendezvoused with Akihiko and Junpei near an escape route, and after (comparatively) light teasing from Junpei and a round of Dia from Akihiko-senpai, they returned to a relieved Mitsuru-senpai.

When they began the trek home, Yukari was glad that she could not see Minato's eyes when she asked him a question she had wanted the answer to since he woke up in the hospital.

"Are you going to be all right, Minato?"

Minato's arms remained strong around Yukari.

"I don't know." He responded emptily.

* * *

Epilogue on the way! It'll be epic, I promise! Thanks guys!


	6. Culmination

January.

The perfect month full of new beginnings.

Minato swallowed the oncoming feeling of anxiety. The Journey had been very difficult, and it was only going to get harder and harder during this final push. Strangely, this looming reality did not perturb Minato in the slightest. What bothered him the most, was that he was not alone in this Journey.

They had come along for the ride – unknowingly and unintentionally. There would come a time, Minato knew, when something would sever him from them, for he alone had sheltered death and he alone had to destroy it.

He only wished that they did not have to witness this transfomation.

An impossibility.

This was their January, and Minato's December, which was quickly coming to an end.

"There you are!"

Minato reacted slightly to Yukari's relieved voice by shifting his head slightly in her direction.

He returned his gaze to the illuminated Tatsumi Island as her footsteps gently approached Minato's side.

"Minato. . . it's freezing out here."

Minato disregarded the deep worry inlaid in her voice and nodded slightly.

"I needed some air, I guess." He said, motioning slightly to the surrounding rooftop of the dormitory.

"Oh." Yukari acquiested, letting the subject go. She leaned over the brick wall, her easy going posture slightly contrasting with Minato's slight slouch-backed form

They stood in the silent night, observing the flickering lights and small cars crawling below them for minutes before Minato spoke.

"Yukari. I think I should let you know,"

Yukari turned to him, her eyes glittering below him in the dark.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"Things. . . are going to start getting ugly from here on out."

Yukari said nothing, and slowly moved her eyes away from Minato.

"I don't care about that, remember?" She reminded him gently, her smile reaching Minato's ears.

Minato found himself struggling for words.

"I think that maybe you should."

He could almost hear the smile slip away from her face.

"Minato-"

"I can't really explain it. . . but it's big. Real big."

Yukari turned to him and squinted up at his inpenetrable eyes.

"Are you smiling?"

* * *

"Akihiko-"

Mitsuru came to a dead stop as she planted a booted foot into the kitchen. Her dark eyes first widened but then quickly narrowed into a glare.

"Freeze." Mitsuru said venomously.

Akihiko looked up with a blush sprawled out on his face, his eyes wide in initial fear of her presence.

He had been busted.

In between his fingers was a bacon strip, cooked especially, Mitsuru knew, for the canine sitting obediently below those fingers which held the decadent delicacy.

Akihiko suddenly grinned mischieviously as he let the greasy bacon slip out of his fingers and into the eager jaws of Koromaru.

Mitsuru's fists clenched in a wave of silent rage as Koromaru giddily jostled out of the kitchen with his primary goal fulfilled to his satisifaction.

Akihiko waited for the tempest to crash down on him, but somehow couldn't find the shame or the regret to wipe the grin off his face.

"Don't be so upset-" He started, getting up from his seat and walking easily over to the sink.

"We are less than one month away from saving the world, defeating Nyx, and you're feeding him _fatty trash!?_" Mitsuru stabbed a slim finger in Akihiko's direction.

Mitsuru's lividness rolled off of Akihiko like water on a duck's back.

"Everyone deserves a little treat now and then." Akihiko replied patiently as he finished up washing his hands and approached Mitsuru easily with folded arms.

"Let it go." He cooed, smiling knowingly at her.

Mitsuru grunted a resistant sigh before unclenching her fists.

"Just this once."

Akihiko nodded, his arms still folded.

"I need to make a brief excursion to Iwatodai stip mall." Mitsuru reported.

Akihiko furrowed his brow.

"It's 11:45. 'The hell do you need to go there for?"

"Yamagishi came to me a few moments ago reporting the flickering appearance of a shadow."

"That's really weird, Mitsuru. It's not even the Dark Hour yet. . . are you sure-"

"Yamagishi's persona hasn't misled us so far, there's no reason to doubt her. It could be nothing; it could be a shadow out of sync with Tarturus or waking prematurely due to some stimulation." Mitsuru pointed out.

"Regardless of the situation, I expect to return shortly. I thought I'd let you know." Mitsuru turned around to pick up her coat from the nearby sofa when Akihiko suddenly realized what this little snippet entailed.

"You're going alone?"

"It's a preliminary investigation. There's no need to bring anyone else." Mitsuru said evenly, pulling on her thick coat and pulling out a pair of slender leather gloves from one of the pockets.

Akihiko shook his head.

"You're not going anywhere without someone else, Mitsuru."

"That sounded like a command."

Akihiko swallowed hard enough for Mitsuru to hear, but refused to uncross his arms or ease up on his glare.

"It was."

Mitsuru cocked a surprised eyebrow at Akihiko as she half-heartedly concealed a smirk. Neither of the senpai noticed the light-footed entrance of Ken Amada who, upon realizing he was walking in a precarious conversation, could not decide whether or not to back away slowly or run into the kitchen and hide. He decided the latter was the best option at this point, and did not hesitate to execute it.

"A very bold statement, Akihiko. Especially since you know how adept I am at taking down an enemy. . . or a friend." Mitsuru's tone lifted slightly at the end of her sentence.

Akihiko knew this was as close to playful banter as Mitsuru was going to get with him, so he wasn't particularly worried about her completely destroying him despite the insulting nature of his worry.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're a big tough girl and I'm a little puny baby with boxing gloves, I've heard it all before. That's not going to stop me from insisting on your bringing an escort with you, though. Like you said, we're less than a month away from facing Nyx. We can't take any chances." Akihiko said frankly, raising an eyebrow to match Mitsuru's.

Mitsuru twisted her lips in consideration.

"I see. I hope you're not suggesting I bring _you_ along with me."

Akihiko sighed heavily, ignoring her lighthearted jab.

"Of course, I'll go with you."

Mitsuru laughed exasperatedly at Akihiko's uncanny ability to twist her words into something completely opposite of her initial meaning.

"Amada." Mitsuru called out, keeping her eyes steadily on Akihiko.

The clattering of a dish in the kitchen confirmed the presence of the aforementioned pre-teen.

"Come here, please." Mitsuru said carefully, folding her now gloved hands across her chest daringly to Akihiko.

Akihiko's glare let up as Ken timidly entered the room.

"How would you like to go for a midnight motorcycle ride?" Mitsuru asked earnestly.

Ken's face lit up.

"I'll go get my coat!"

Akihiko gave a disheveled sigh.

"Dammit, Mitsuru." Akihiko whined incredulously.

Mitsuru smiled warmly as she went to the door.

"Don't complain, Akihiko. I'm doing you a favor by bringing him with me, even though I have the capability to easily refute your 'command'"

Akihiko resigned himself to the couch and picked up one of his schoolbooks that was lying nearby.

"Tch, thanks. . . I guess." He muttered bitterly, making a big presentation of opening it and angrily flipping through the pages.

Ken quickly returned, readily dressed in his heavy coat and long pants.

"I'm ready, senpai!"

"Ah, let me pull the bike around front. Wait for me on the steps."

Mitsuru threw one last crooked smile at the back of Akihiko's head before she exited the dorm, leaving Ken alone with Akihiko for a few minutes.

"Ken, come here for a second." Akihiko said, his face deceptively buried in his book.

"Something wrong, Sanada-san?" Ken asked unsurely as he put himself next to the sofa on which Akihiko was sitting.

"I know I don't need to tell you this, but I'm going to anyway. Listen to Mitsuru."

Ken frowned.

"Have I done something wrong?"

Akihiko shook his head.

"No, of course not, Ken. I know you like to be independent and I'm glad you can take care of yourself, but things can change really fast. You need to be able to switch gears and be willing to see the big picture if things go sour."

"Do you really think that might happen?"

"It's all about understanding the possibilities of any given situation. Listen to Mitsuru if things get. . . confusing. She keeps her head on better than anyone here. . . 'cept maybe the dog." Akihiko added dourly, throwing a glance in the direction of the wagging dog on the floor.

Ken smiled at this.

"Of course, I understand. Who could _not_ listen to her?"

Akihiko gave a mirthless chuckle.

"You hit the nail on the head with that one, Ken."

The prompt roar of Mitsuru's bike caused Ken to jump up in anticipation, and after bidding a hasty farewell to his idol, Ken was halfway out the door.

"Ken." Akihiko was looking back at him seriously.

"I'll remember, Sanada-san-"

"I'm counting on you."

Ken froze momentarily under the newfound heaviness of this responsibility, but he quickly recovered and nodded before leaving to join Mitsuru.

* * *

The cold was unforgiving when merely standing alone, but as Ken soon found out it was much more ruthless when on a motorcycle. He wished he had brought warmer clothes, but decided he should be glad he was wearing what he was wearing. Mitsuru was silent, and apparently completely immune to even the lowest of temperatures. Ken kept his eyes lowered to the ground to avoid getting hit by any of the excess cold that Mitsuru was blocking out, and as the frost on the ground flew by Ken's eyes, he realized that it was most likely the Dark Hour now.

He looked up to find his suspicions confirmed.

Frost bitten coffins were arranged in miscellaneous positions along the street leading to the Iwatodai strip mall. Ken was reminded of a kind of cold soul-less hell as he looked up at the smiling moon.

"We're here." Mitsuru chimed into Ken's thoughts softly, looking around at Iwatodai suspiciously as she let the engine stall.

_It doesn't look like there's a shadow here. . . _Ken thought cautiously, looking around him meticulously, but still latching onto Mitsuru.

"Stay sharp, Amada." Mitsuru intoned darkly, as if reading Ken's thoughts.

Despite their still surroundings, Mitsuru could almost smell the scant odor of a lumbering shadow lurking in the darkness of the night. Her only hope was that he had not yet fed on the lifeless souls trapped in their coffins. Mitsuru flipped the kickstand down and slowly removed her helmet as she left the engine running.

"Just in case. . ." Mitsuru said, looking behind her to give Ken a reassuring smile.

Ken nodded and followed her lead in taking off his helmet and stepping off the bike.

As Ken went to suggest they start looking around, the stillness around them was shattered by a blood-thirsty scream that made Ken's blood run cold.

Mitsuru pulled her rapier out of the loop on her holster and warily brought it to her side, waiting for the shadow to make its appearance.

Ken awkwardly remembered that he should be doing the same, but instead of bringing out his cumbersome spear (which he had kept in separate parts on the back of Mitsuru's bike) he pulled out his evoker and waited for the shadow to reveal itself.

The silence engulfed them once again, leaving Ken to idly wonder if it was some ridiculous fluke meshed with an oddly timed coincedence that had led them here, only to have their target disappear.

Ken soon wished this to be true, as a colossal figure soon ascended above the nearby skyline that Ken and Mitsuru stood under.

Mitsuru's breathing, which was previously steady and low now choked slightly as her grip on the hilt of her rapier constricted. Ken thought he heard his senpai curse softly, but was too transfixed with the sheer ridiculous size of the shadow before them.

Even though its size alone could have been enough to squash any resisting entity, the shadow had adorned upon itself a thick layer of iron armor, elaborated only with a heavy mantle. The shadow was easily two stories tall and at least a bus and a half wide. A deep red color emanated from the shadow's hollow interior. Ken's hand was shaking wildly with gripping the evoker so tightly. He could easily have brought it to his forehead and brought Kala-Nemi to his side in order to eradicate the shadow, but. . .

Ken looked over to Mitsuru, and saw her silently calculating their current predicatment.

The shadow's movement's seized momentarily before slamming down onto the pavement. The velocity of its descent from the top of a rather high building caused the ground below to rupture and split into pieces. The ground quaked under Ken and Mitsuru's feet and the shadow began to snarl at them, having evaluated the two for only mere moments before deciding they were to be his meal.

That was all the motivation Mitsuru needed to make her decision.

"Back on the bike, Amada!"

Ken flashed over to his seat behind Mitsuru, and pulled himself tight against her back as she spun the bike around and took off in the opposite direction of the shadow. The shadow responded with a furious shriek and hurtled heavily after them.

Ken cringed inadvertantly at the destructive pounding noises behind him. He had an idea of what Mitsuru's strategy was, but he had to hear it for himself.

"Mitsuru-senpai!" He shouted, as calmly as he could, above the roar of the engine and the angry thundering of the gargantuan shadow behind them.

"Where are we going?!"

"Moonlight Bridge!" She responded just as loudly, her voice composed and collected. "Our intent is to avoid causing panic throughout the city, and the best way to do that is to lead the shadow out of the narrow streets and into a more open arena!"

Mitsuru hazarded a look into her mirror only to see the shadow charging forward and screeching like a gorilla on all fours. She gritted her teeth.

"Amada, hold fast."

If it was at all possible, Ken obeyed while Mitsuru lifted the clutch into the fastest gear available to her. Their speed picked up only slightly as Mitsuru reached for her communicator and paged the S.E.E.S. dormitory.

* * *

"Sheesh, where are they?" Yukari sighed heavily, falling back against the plush back of the 4th floor sofas. Next to her, Junpei shrugged as he fumbled with his PSP awkwardly, obviously in the throes of losing terribly to some boss.

"Beats me. . . maybe Mitsuru-senpai took Ken out for some ice cream."

Everyone laughed at this statement, knowing how inane it was for the two in question.

Fuuka finished her giggling and checked the console to see if she had missed any messages.

"Hmm . . . nothing yet." She said with a defeated sigh, pressing a few idle buttons to channel her subtle worry.

"I'm sure they're fine." Junpei grumbled, tossing his PSP aside and stretching his hands behind his head confidently.

"Hell, just watching Mitsuru-senpai and Ken walk up to them should make a shadow shit themselves."

"Ugh, you're so _gross_!" Yukari complained, hitting Junpei roughly with a pillow.

Akihiko chuckled at the scene unfolding before him and smiled as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees.

"I wouldn't worry too much-"

A loud series of beeps infiltrated the sanctity of the room, and Fuuka immediately turned around in her seat and pushed the button to receive the call. The room fell deathly quiet.

"This is Fuuka." Fuuka said urgently, looking down at the console gravely.

"Yamagishi, this is Mitsuru. We're being pursued by an extremely large and destructive shadow-"

S.E.E.S. shot to attention, and those sitting were immediately up and all gathered around Fuuka and the control panel.

Mitsuru was speaking loudly over the fuming noise of her motorcycle and the distinct crushing noises in the background.

Akihiko leaned over the console and cut in.

"Mitsuru, where are you?"

"We're crossing the rail bridge to Paulownia Mall, our destination is the Moonlight Bridge, ETA five minutes." Mitsuru's voice was slowly losing its composure, and Akihiko balled his fists to his side as he looked over to Minato. Minato gave an abrupt nod.

"Understood. We're on our way." Fuuka said calmly. "Yamagishi out."

Fuuka pushed a button and ended the signal.

"Time for battle." Minato commanded in a controlled voice the moment the transmission ended. "Collect your weapons and necessary items. We'll rendevous in the lounge and leave shortly thereafter in five minutes."

* * *

Mitsuru ended the call as they rushed past Paulownia Mall. Ken had no doubt heard the conversation, so she focused on avoiding the thrashing of their predator instead of explaining the situation to him. Mitsuru was so engaged in the flight from the shadow, she did not register the swiftly enlarging figure of a similar shadow on the horizon of the Moonlight Bridge.

Ken, however, noticed it immediately.

"Senpai! Look, there on the bridge!"

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed in as they sped toward the bridge.

"Another one." Mitsuru snarled.

"It looks just like the one behind us!"

"It's probably it's counterpart." Mitsuru gave a pained grimace, felt by Amada.

"Senpai-"

"Amada, I have an idea but it's very dangerous. On that note, there is something I forgot to tell you about riding a motorcycle."

Ken held his breath, unsure of what Mitsuru could possibly be talking about.

". . . and that is how to properly survive a crash."

"What?!"

They did not have much time before they reached the bridge, and the shadow behind them was quickly closing the gap.

"I'll roll the bike to the left, and at my signal, you'll bail out on the right. Tuck your head under and roll, do you understand?"

Ken grappled with this new set of instructions, wondering if Mitsuru really meant to crash her valued motorcycle. He remembered hearing about the first time it had nearly been destroyed the night Fuuka awakened to Lucia, and how hard it had been for her to get it back to normal. Ken realized then that his senpai was not immune to desperation.

He frowned.

She seemed to be immune to fear, though.

"W-What will you do?"

They were on the bridge.

"Do not concern yourself with such things now. Just follow my instructions, and we'll work from there."

The shadow behind them was now mere feet away from smashing Mitsuru, Ken, and the motorcycle to bits. Ken quivered as he eased up slightly on Mitsuru's waist, feeling an ominous and haunting feeling settle into his stomach.

"NOW"

Ken forced himself to let go, even though his brain screamed in opposition. He twisted sharply to his right and pulled his knees tightly into his stomach. Ken tumbled off of the motorcycle and seconds after heard the sick grind of the engine choking and dying.

He wondered briefly if the sound of Mitsuru's body cracking and breaking was drowned out by the noise.

Ken flew through the air for what seemed like a terrifying eternity. He was certain he was destined to spend his time spinning through this awkward limbo of fear, but Ken's assumptions were dashed when he hit the ground still rolling.

Ken thought he would open his eyes to nothing when he finally hit something hard and stopped tumbling.

Mitsuru did not allow herself a look over at Ken Amada's body for she could not afford to be distracted if he was hurt or unconcious. Whatever happened to him, it was going to be a lot worse if she didn't stay her ground.

Before her, twin shadows had collided. Mitsuru's plans had been carried out to her satisfaction, and the heavy collision, which rocked the very foundations of the bridge's support, had given Mitsuru the precious moments she needed to stall the shadows.

They fumbled around a bit, awkwardly pushing each other and causing minor tremors on the bridge as they clumsily found the way back up to their feet. Mitsuru stared at them, unwilling to make a move until the very last possible moment.

The slow movements, although agonizingly slow, did not last as long as Mitsuru had gauged them to. Both shadows, identical except for their difference in their colors, towered above her.

Her presence had been detected.

In the distance, Ken opened his eyes to see Mitsuru standing tall in the sliver of darkness between the red and black shadows. They bore no weapon, but their bulky fists were held menacingly over Mitsuru. Ken suddenly choked on the pressing feeling of helplessness as he saw how small she was compared to the enemy. Despite the growing pain, Ken clamoured up to his feet and steadied himself against the frozen concrete edge of the bridge.

"Senpai-" He cried out, wincing slightly at the pain yelling caused him.

"Your leg. . ." Ken murmured dryly.

The out-turned side of Mitsuru's leg was rubbed red with road rash that ran from her calf to her mid-thigh.

Ken became highly aware of the situation.

She had used the crash as a way to trap the shadows into a head-on crash, but had told Ken to bail out to his right, while she had pulled herself and her motorcycle a dive to the left in order effectively deter Ken from receiving the brunt of the injuries. She should be dead right now.

"Amada,"

Ken saw the mist rise from above Mitsuru-senpai's head, her breath swirling above her.

"Stay back."

The singing of a blade being pulled out of Mitsuru's belt reached Ken's ears.

His eyes grew wide.

"Wha- no way, Senpai- _I can fight!!" _Ken yelled, drawing frozen air into his lungs and snatching his evoker out of his belt.

Mitsuru was silent as she held her rapier out pointedly to the shadows that were costively coming in to crush her.

"Do not misunderstand me." She said coldly.

Ken's hand stilled in the action of pushing the evoker to his head.

"I did not ask you to fall back, but merely to stay back. From here on out, you will provide support while I launch the offensive strike."

He couldn't believe this, she was actually serious! She was going to take on two monstrously huge shadows by herself. . . Was this what Sanada-san had meant? Listen to Mitsuru-senpai no matter what? Even if it meant-

Ken shuddered.

Sanada-san was _counting _on him.

Swallowing hard, Ken quietly held the evoker at his side and waited for the battle to begin and for Mitsuru to get hurt.

The first strike was imminent.

Mitsuru's fingers brushed lightly against the evoker in her holster, but she did not reach for it. Her eyes were steady on the red shadow, a certain feeling creeping along her spine.

Coldly, affectionately-

"Artemesia."

Ken's lips, blistered by the cold, parted slightly.

There, at her side, Artemisia had appeared without the clarifying aid of an evoker.

Mitsuru basked in her presence.

"_Mitsuru," _

Ken blinked.

She spoke.

It was a deep, throaty voice that whispered her mistress' name with utmost fondness.

"_Never forget. . . I will make you cold steel."_

He saw Mitsuru's hand become enveloped in ice which flowed from her wrist to the hilt of her sword. The ice continued and ran past the gaurd straight to the tip of the blade.

"Bufudyne."

* * *

"Aigis, ETA."

"Approximately 7 minutes at our current speed." Aigis reported, running briskly at Minato's side. Running closely behind them were Fuuka, Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, and Koromaru, all pushing forward with the utmost haste.

"It's no good." Akihiko muttered under his breath.

"C'mon senpai, this is Mitsuru-senpai we're talking about! Just like Junpei said, I'm sure she's making that shadow into fish paste right now." Yukari offered, slightly winded.

Beside Akihiko, Fuuka clenched her eyes shut. "How could I missed something as big as what she was describing!? Everyone- I'm so sorry-"

"Don't talk like that, Fuuka. In fact, let's all just shut up until we get there," Junpei grunted, his long legs stretching slightly before Minato's leading force.

"We should save our strength." He finished in a huff.

Ken held back a cry as Mitsuru was sent soaring back before landing on her stomach. He threw his evoker to his temple and screamed the name of his persona.

"Kala-Nemi, Diahran!"

Obeying his young master's call, Kala-Nemi spun above him and raised his mighty hands in Mitsuru-senpai's direction. She was granted a reprieve, but Ken knew he barely had one more round of healing before his spirit power was depleted. He desperately began to wrack his brain for a plan that would help his senpai hold out a little longer.

Ken could produce nothing.

"Amada. . ." Mitsuru's haggard voice connected to Ken.

"Senpai . . ." He stifled a plea for her to trade places with him. The heat of battle wasn't even starting yet, and Mitsuru had all ready suffered devastating injuries. Ken had tried his best to heal them all, but with the surprisingly quick movements of the two oversized shadows, he could only do the bare minimum to keep her standing.

She blocked the crushing fist of the black shadow with her hand pressed flat against her thin rapier.

"How much more spirit power do you have?" Mitsuru grunted out, the sheer brute force of her enemy proving extremely difficult to handle.

"S-senpai, I'm sorry, forgive me, one more Diahran is all I can give you."

Mitsuru nodded to herself.

"So be it." She murmured agreeably, having all ready settled the problem in her mouth.

Her rapier cracked, and she gritted her teeth.

"Senpai!"

The blade shattered and the thousand pieces glittered in the frozen moonlight. Mitsuru fell out from under the grinding fist and slid to her knees. To Mitsuru's chagrin, the shadow immediately recognized Mitsuru's narrow escape and quickly tried to squash her with its hand.

Mitsuru blindly and hastily stumbled to the direction of Ken's voice as she ignored the annoying throbs of the cuts on her face and the persistant tearing feeling held in her stomach. She could feel the warm blood everywhere on her cold body, and accepted that there was no escape from it.

"Amada," Mitsuru said tenderly stepping up to Ken's hazy figure.

"S-senpai. . . what are you-"

"Do not think badly of me." Mitsuru said, sounding deeply wounded and closing her eyes softly.

The shadow screamed.

Ken's heart jumped into his throat as Mitsuru-senpai grabbed his coat and pulled him to her desperately. It would be an understatement to say she had entrapped him into an embrace, it was more remniscent of a death-hold. Ken tried to pry himself apart from her, but she was too strong for him. While he was not feeling smothered, Ken was feeling extremely confused and panicked.

Then he felt it.

The blistering heat of the shadow's Agidyne whipped Mitsuru's back.

Ken screamed as she fell over on top of him, effectively pinning him to the frozen ground below and protecting him from the rage of the shadows above.

"NOO!! SENPAI, GET OFF!!" Ken screeched, trying to claw at her fallen form, but finding his arms crushed beneath Mitsuru's hips.

Another Agidyne whipped at Mitsuru's back, causing her to go rigid momentarily and then falling limp again.

Ken's head was cradled underneath her bleeding shoulder, and Mitsuru's red hair cascaded before Ken's eyes, veiling the world in strings and slivers of images. The only scene available to him was the distant view of the darkened bridge.

"SENPAI!!" Ken sobbed.

Another Agidyne lapped at Mitsuru-senpai's body. Ken could feel the shadow's anger through their violence toward Mitsuru. They obviously were tired of her and wanted to get to the prey hiding below her unconcious form.

Ken felt himself going into shock.

She was going to die just like his mother and Shinjiro-senpai died. Mitsuru-senpai was going give her life so that Ken could live.

This infuriated Ken. Since when was his life so much more important than theirs? Since when was he worth protecting? He didn't understand all of this useless waste.

"I HATE YOU!" He screamed at her unconcious form in a rare lapse in to childlike behavior. He couldn't hold it in anymore. Ken began to give in to despair and allowed his body to be conquered with sobs.

Another Agidyne ripped at Mitsuru's body.

Another scream tore out of Ken's throat.

The shadows, impatient with their inability to reach Ken, finally turned to the force instead of the element. Ken heard a clear scrapping noise run across the ground.

Ken looked up and though he was blanketed by Mitsuru's hair, he sensed a fist being lifted.

He quickly shut his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the finishing blow to come-

"**RABA-DABA-DOOOOO, MOTHER-FUCKERS**!"

Ken's eyes shot open in shock, as he twisted his head and peered through the strands of Mitsuru's hair to see Junpei hurtling forward and madly swinging his two-handed katana at the gigantic shadows.

Immediately, the shadows issued forth infuriated screams and both left Ken and Mitsuru in favor for Junpei.

Junpei laughed.

"You guys are dumb as _shit!_" He yelled as he swung his sword into a crack in the shadows leg armor

Behind the targeted shadow, Minato leapt out of the darkness and drove his own-two handed katana into the back of the knee of the black shadow. The shadow let off a ravaged scream as it aimed its fist at Junpei and Minato, who, now both standing side by side, aptly slid out of the path of the fist

The red shadow pivoted and went to bring its foot down on top of Junpei, who coolly stood in its way with a cheesy grin without attempting to move out of the way.

Before the destructive foot made contact with Junpei, it was blown slightly off course by a nearby petite burnette, who had an evoker pointed point-blank at her own forehead.

"Don't forget ugly!" Yukari scoffed prettily.

The red shadow turned its attention toward Yukari and she immediately led it over to an awaiting Koromaru, who howled thirstily to the moon and summoned a striking Agidyne.

With Junpei and Minato keeping the black shadow occupied, and Koromaru and Yukari distracting the red shadow, Akihiko and Fuuka stealthily slipped out of the shadows of the bridge and rushed over to Mitsuru and Ken's prone figures.

Akihiko readied himself for the worst as he kneeled beside Mitsuru and gently pulled her off of Ken and into his lap. He was surprised at how tenaciously she was gripping Ken, but still managed to pry them apart.

"Oh God." Akihiko murmured, heart-broken in taking in her condiction.

Fuuka pulled Ken up into a sitting position and let her hands linger on his shoulders. "Ken-kun," she whimpered, seeing the angry tears that had stained his cheeks.

"Are you all right?" She asked, wiping a few stray hair hairs out of his eyes and stroking his cheek in a show of maternal affection.

Ken shook his head while looking over at Mitsuru in consternation.

"Look at you." Akihiko murmured, his voice hitching slightly as he took in the sight of Mitsuru's extremely bloodied state. He softly and urgently felt her neck for a pulse and followed with a deep sigh and a delicate nod in Fuuka's direction.

"It's bad, but she's just unconcious."

Fuuka breathed heavily and nodded before turning to Ken, who didn't look any less serious. Akihiko acknowledged his severe expression with a reciprocal sober look.

"Ken-"

"S-S-Sanada-san. . ." Ken said fragilly, valiantly working to push back his tears and failing to notice that they were still pouring down his face.

"I-I co-couldn't protect h.. .her. . . I-"

"Ken," Akihiko started softly. "You did what Mitsuru asked of you. . . what I asked you." Akihiko said with stunning precision, not letting any tenderness ebb the seriousness in his voice.

Fuuka nodded in agreement as she gave Ken a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.

Ken shook his head violently as he bit his lip to force a sob down.

"It's not fair! I keep getting saved-"

"Ken." Akihiko said harshly.

Ken's eyes lingered momentarily on Mitsuru's prone figure before guiltily sinking to the floor.

"The fact that your mother, Shinji, and now nearly Mitsuru, are willing to give up their lives for you means that a lot of people think that you are worth saving. Maybe you should stop fighting that."

Fuuka suddenly stood up and let go of Ken's shoulder.

"She's here!" Fuuka exclaimed to her sparring friends as she grasped her evoker in her hand. Instantly, the fighting members of S.E.E.S. retreated just as Fuuka summoned and was encased in the presence of Juno.

Ken looked at the scene, perplexed.

"Wha. . . What-"

A lead heavy hand suddenly grasped Ken's shoulder. He looked down at the silver tipped fingers and followed them all the way up to Aigis' soft eyes.

"Amada-san."

"Aigis-" Ken's eyes moistened instantly, realizing what her presence meant.

"You have done well. I will take care of Mitsuru-san now."

Aigis' eyes moved away from Ken's as she stepped around him and approached Mitsuru's body.

"Samarecarm."

* * *

The seven of them were wedged tightly between the corner of the bridge wall and Juno. While Fuuka and Juno fended off the heavy blows of the two shadows, the remaining S.E.E.S. members focused on their plan of action.

Mitsuru sat poised in her perfect posture despite the stinging lacerations on her back, most of which were currently being healed by Yukari and her strong medicine.

"Geez, senpai! Way to take a thrashing. . ." Yukari muttered, tracing her long fingers along the singe marks on Mitsuru's back.

"Pardon?" Mitsuru queried in a confused tone.

"I was being sarcastic."

"Oh. I see."

Yukari couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"Aigis-" Minato started, being temporarily shaken by aftershock of the shadow's attack on Juno.

"My observation of the battle was short, but long enough to confirm Fuuka-san's suspicions. We are dealing with two highly specialized shadows."

Mitsuru nodded as Aigis handed her a fresh rapier from the back of Mitsuru's nearly destroyed motorcycle.

"Yes, the red shadow is vulnerable to elemental attacks, while I could only hold the black shadow back with my physical attacks."

"I assume that Fuuka-san's persona was unable to detect them due to their opposing natures. They may have counteracted each other's ability well enough to hide them from sight." Aigis finished, looking over at Juno.

Minato looked at the ground steadily as he softly ran his finger down the line of his jaw.

"Good." He finally stated.

"This means our attack will be simple and to-the-point." Minato said, bringing himself up into a standing position.

"Four people will not be able to handle these two shadows; quite frankly, I'm surprised Mitsuru-senpai lasted as long as she did. We'll break up into two teams; Team Alpha will spearhead the attack on the red shadow, while Team Beta will take on the black shadow."

"All right! We've got names! Sweeet!" Junpei cheered happily

"So that means. . ." Ken fumbled as he scratched his head.

"That means we'll have two leaders. I will lead Team Alpha, and Aigis will lead Team Beta."

All eyes went to Aigis, and for a heart-skipping moment she thought that she was going to be the subject of a boisterous falling out. Always the comic relief, Junpei clapped his hands as if to say 'hallelujah'

"Thank friggin GOD I don't have to follow your sorry ass anymore!"

Minato smiled widely.

"Good choice, Minato-kun." Yukari agreed, nodding energetically at Aigis who returned with a grateful smile.

"Mitsuru-senpai, Ken, and Yukari will join me in Team Alpha, while Junpei, Akihiko-senpai, and Koromaru will follow Aigis. Everyone still with me?"

The team nodded, and Fuuka's Juno remained solid under the enormous weight of the shadow's attack.

Minato was temporarily drowned out by their frustrated screeches.

"The teams will decide on a strategy and divide up responsibilities after we split. Aigis," Minato's dark blue eyes met Aigis' bright azure orbs in the darkness.

"I am giving you full jurisdiction over your team; that means Fuuka will take your commands as she takes mine. Use Orgia Mode at your own discretion."

"Understood." Aigis responded, the eagerness to prove herself to Minato rising in her voice.

"Fuuka." Minato turned to Juno's back and Fuuka turned her head slightly toward him.

"This, inevitably, means that you will be providing dual support. Can you do it?"

Fuuka paused, and opened her mouth to let her meek voice escape when Shinjiro-senpai's scowling face popped into her head.

"Absolutely." She responded imperially.

"Good." Minato nodded and turned back to his teammates.

"Take care of each other. Don't get cocky. I expect _all_ of you back here soon. Let's go."

They needed no futher provocation. Aigis led Junpei, Akihiko, and Koromaru out from under Juno's left wing while Minato escaped from the right wing with Mitsuru, Ken, and Yukari close at his heels.

* * *

Aigis and her team managed to swing the black shadow's attention away from Fuuka and the shadow's red counterpart as soon as they made it out of Juno's grasp. Aigis intended to keep it that way, and led her friends to the most southward portion of the bridge.

Aigis stopped as the shadow dumbly gaped at the small group, obviously confused at the new faces, but readying for his first attack.

"I assume I need not caution you to abstain from using elemental attacks, as the enemy will most likely absorb it."

Akihiko nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. What's the plan?" Akihiko said, cutting to the chase by slipping on his newly acquired bladed fists.

"The most effective way to bring down a heavily armored enemy is to find the point of weakness in their armor. Typically, it is found in the neck and the knees-"

"So you want us to go for those parts, eh General Ai-chan?"

Akihiko gave Junpei a succinct elbow to the head as Aigis glared determinedly ahead at the laboring shadow that was swooping in for the kill.

"Precisely."

Koromaru complemented her statement with an inquisitive yap.

"Koromaru, I am reluctant to ask this of you two, but I need to you and Akihiko-san act as decoys while Junpei-san and I launch the first assault."

"Tch, sounds like a grand old time to me. What do you need us to do?"

"Koromaru will use his speed to distract the shadow while you, Akihiko-senpai, cover him from any attacks and attack in kind if need be."

"You got it, let's go, boy!" Akihiko gave a sharp whistle and the dog immediately pounced out in front of the shadow and started the most annoying series of yaps that he could muster. Akihiko gave a low growl as the electric shock of his evoker brought forth Caeser and a Sonic Punch.

Aigis took this opportunity to nudge Junpei into following her sneak around behind Caeser and into the shadows alongside the shadow. The noise of Koromaru's barking and Akihiko's summoning faded slightly from earshot as Aigis pulled him in close to practically yell at him.

"I will ascend the shadow's back in order to puncture its neck armor-"

"WHAT!? THAT'S LIKE FIVE STORIES UP!! ARE YOU FUCKING INS-"

Junpei's spit splattered unevenly on Aigis' open eyes. As she flicked away the droplets off of her glass lenses with one hand, she used the other to cover Junpei's huge mouth.

"While I am impairing the shadow from above, you will work on its armor around the knees." Aigis declared with a slightly aggravated stare.

She did not ask if Junpei understood, but rather gripped him tightly on his shoulder with her free hand.

"Junpei-san, I cannot do this without you. I need you behind me at every step."

After a dejected sigh and a defeated swallow, Junpei nodded. He thought about bidding her goodbye with something cool like '_come back in one piece, Ai-chan_' or even better '_you're so freakin hardcore, kick some ass for me too_,' but he thought the best thing he could leave her with was his trademark grin.

Aigis gave him a curt nod and, as lightly as she could, shot up into the air and hooked her fingers around the edges of her enemies thick and black armor. Junpei watched in increasing apprehension as his friend nimbly clamor up the back of the unsuspecting shadow. He gave one last gulp before re-adjusting the brim of his cap and picking up his heavy sword.

* * *

Akihiko kept a sharp eye on Koromaru as the small dog narrowly escaped the shadow's descending foot, leading him right into the waiting clutches of Akihiko.

"Come and get me, buddy! I'm right here!" Akihiko shouted teasingly, tempting the shadow with a cutting fist its heel and then dashing out of the way before he became a pile of goop with a red sweater vest.

The shadow released another shrill bellow of irritation before belching out a high Bufudyne at Akihiko. Akihiko felt the very hairs on the back of his neck momentarily freeze as he become entombed in a block of ice for a few heart-stopping seconds before he fell back flat on his rear-end.

"Damn, what a bite." Akihiko said wryly as he brushed a few ice chunks off of his shoulder. He struggled to pull himself up onto his frozen legs, but realized he needed a few more seconds (which he didn't have) to thaw out. The shadow aimed low at Akihiko, finding that its Bufudyne was more than enough to finish him off.

"Akihiko-senpai, look OUT!" Fuuka's voice screamed over the communicator.

The shadow's fist lowered, brushing slightly against a few of Akihiko's erect and frozen hairs.

Koromaru suddenly appeared on the scene, and swept into the shadow's lowered head with a biting slash from his dagger. The shadow reeled for a moment, giving Akihiko the window he so desperately needed to escape.

As he got up, Koromaru pointed a disgruntled bark in his direction, as if to say 'pay attention, idiot!'

* * *

Aigis painstakingly and delicately placed her hands and legs in the niches and dents in the shadow's armor, the sheer expanse of its back causing her to frown in dismay. She was only around its midback, and it had taken her over two minutes to get up this far.

It was difficult enough to keep herself hidden from the shadows senses, but with the combined sharp movements of the shadow chasing after Akihiko and Koromaru, Aigis was finding it difficult to keep herself latched on.

"Fuuka-san." Aigis spoke into her communicator. "What is the status of my team?"

"Uh," Fuuka started distractedly, obviously beginning to fray under the pressure of providing support to two teams.

"Koro-chan's slowing down and needs Chewing Soul, Akihiko-senpai is still partially frozen but blocking attacks, and Junpei-kun is still okay, although I don't know how much longer he can hold out, Aigis!"

Aigis nodded grimly.

_Everyone. . . hold on!_

* * *

Junpei tried to disarm the shadow's left leg without being turned into a pancake by its other foot. He realized that his job would be a hell of a easier if this damn thing would just hold still!

"C'mon, Ai-chan. . ." Junpei muttered huskily, awkwardly throwing his katana at the back of the shadow's knee but merely tripping and falling over when its other foot brushed perilously close to Junpei.

Aigis pushed out a hefty breath of air and watched it billow above her in the cold. She had finally reached the shadow's neck. If all went well from here on out, the rest would be easily taken care of by the rest of her team with little or no injuries, or so Aigis hoped.

She exhaled another frosty breath, and pulled her out and aimed it point-blank at the shadow's scantily exposed neck.

"Athena."

The wise deity materialized from the expanse of cold air beside Aigis and hovered undetected by the shadow's shoulder.

A sense of relief flooded Aigis' keen senses as she looked at her persona's pallid and beautiful face.

"Pallas Athena. . ." Aigis breathed, slightly worn from her climb. "Please, lend me your strength."

Athena's gilded and darkened face frowned deeply underneath her massive helm.

"_Child_," she intoned patiently but with slight reproach. "_I _am_ your strength. Trust yourself," _Athena lifted her brilliant ivory spear _"and we will become _unstoppable_._"

Aigis pointed Medusa flat against the shadows neck and unloaded a few rounds into its flesh as Athena struck with a vengeful God's Hand. The shadow abruptly responded by cutting short its pursuit of Koromaru and Akihiko and thrashing its hands around its neck to rid itself of the pesky fly that was attacking him.

Aigis gave a muffled cry as her hold slipped out from under her and the shadow's clumsy hands desperately swatted at her. A few of its stray fingers roughly crunched Aigis' left arm and bent it in half. She smothered a hoarse scream and reached out sharply and grasped the sharp edge of the armor with one hand. She grimaced when she felt the shadow heavily push forward as one of its hands remained searching around its neck for the interloper.

It wasn't enough.

Aigis scowled malevolently at the open-wound dancing before her as the shadow threw ice and light down at her comrades below.

"Akasha Arts!"

Her persona bravely emerged and pointed her pointed spear at the shadow's bullet-ridden neck and unleashed a slew of brutal strikes. It slowed the shadow, but did not stop it dead.

It was still not enough.

She had only precious seconds to set things right; double or nothing.

Aigis swung her heavily damaged arm up over her and seethed in agony as she used it to pull herself up. As she carefully avoided the roaming hand of the shadow, Aigis panted heavily and brought her bullet laden fingers back to the shadow's neck.

"Releasing limiters; Orgia Mode!"

* * *

Junpei caught a flash of light escape from above his head, followed by the crisp sound of steel bullets flying and biting chips of iron.

The shadow came to a shuddering stop.

"-And that's my cue to kick some ass!"

The moment the shadow ceased its movements, Junpei lunged forward with his hands wrapped around the hilt of his katana and slashed open the back of the right knee-

"Team Beta, respond!" Aigis' voice erupted over Junpei's communicator. Junpei briefly stopped his slashing and yelled over the pained cries of the shadow.

"Yo, Ai-chan."

A weary bark came shortly after Junpei's input.

"I'm here!" Akihiko bellowed.

"Full Assault! I repeat, _Full Assault!_" Aigis yelled in a controlled tone.

Before the transmission ended, Junpei heard Akihiko distinctly and outrageously yell. "'Bout damn time, let's get 'em boy!"

Junpei re-adjusted his hands on his katana and took his battle to the opposing left knee. The shadow had finally stopped moving around as much which gave Junpei ample room and attention to stop the shadow's laborious movements and debilitate him for good.

His brazen movements were drowned out by the sound of the quickly crumbling shadow, now his only perogative was to get out of the way-

"Junpei-kun!" Fuuka said in a high voice.

"Fuuka-"

"It's Aigis! Her system's gone into hibernation after Orgia Mode-"

"_Shit_, what side-"

"On your right- listen, Aigis is strong but that fall is going to liquify her if someone doesn't catch her and you're-"

"Say no more." Junpei replied steadily, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

His time was short. The shadow was quickly caving in from under its own weight, thanks mostly to Junpei's handiwork. Junpei clumsily skidded out from under the shadow just as the monster buckled under its own weight and crashed down with a terrifying screech.

The bridge quaked.

Junpei caught himself from falling over from the tremor and stole a glance over his shoulder to see Koromaru and Akihiko hammering diligently away at the down and out shadow. He looked up shortly after and searched the sky for Aigis.

At first he could not see her, but soon he spotted a slender strand of white tumbling head over heels over the bulking blackness of the shadow.

Junpei's katana fell forgotten to the ground as he danced (very comically, upon reflection) around in circles trying to gauge where exactly Aigis would land. As she grew larger and larger in his view, Junpei took one last pitch forward before sliding on his knees with his arms open wide.

"Gotcha!" He proclaimed as she folded slightly and then rested neatly into his arms.

Aigis looked up at him in dumbstruck wonder, her mouth unable to move as her system cooled down.

Junpei grinned.

"Speechless, eh? Don't worry, I usually have that effect on girls-"

"Junpei-kun! Akihiko-senpai and Koro-chan need help!" Fuuka exclaimed, though obviously relieved that Aigis was unharmed.

"Oh yeah, right!" Junpei remembered, getting back up to his feet and scurrying off to meet his team with a still half-concious Aigis in his arms.

* * *

Fuuka felt like a mother with seven children running amuck in a chocolate factory.

"Akihiko-senpai, Koro-chan needs a Diahran. . . Minato-kun, keep an eye on Ken-kun, he's badly hurt. Junpei-kun, be patient and Aigis will be responsive, for now put her out of the way of the fight and she'll rejoin you and instruct you further when she comes to. . . _Someone_- Mitsuru-senpai needs a Patra. Look out for the Bufudyne, Akihiko-senpai. . . . ! No, Yukari-chan, use the Diahran on yourself and then on Ken-kun!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Minato was leading his team in an exhausting fight against the red shadow. His strategy differed from Aigis' in that he ordering his team to take the enemy on with a fierce Knock Down order while Yukari and Mitsuru provided support when needed.

Minato had his share of hurdles. The shadow was draining Minato and Ken of their Samarecarm, not to mention depleting Minato's supply of beads. In addition to this pickle, Minato found that his inventory in general was becoming sparce.

Thankfully, the shadow was not as restless as the shadow Team Beta was fighting, but even when motionless, it could still precise stalwart attacks on Minato's team. Minato had attempted putting his friends in a four-squared position around the shadow and taking turns relaying their respective elemental attacks. Minato's main problem was not the superb elemental attacks of his teammates, but rather the shadow's persistence in honing in on one particular team member's weakness (even from behind) and then repeatedly exploiting it until the team member in question was unconcious.

The easiest target, of course, was Ken Amada, who could be taken out with one slight Mudo.

Minato wanted to give a heavy sigh, but instead he merely made a slight ticking noise with his lips before speaking into his communicator.

"Team Alpha, reassemble to your pre-attack positions to restructure our strategy."

"Understood," By the sound of it, Mitsuru was more than ready to escape the clutches of a ravaging Agidyne.

"Coming!" yelled a breathless Ken.

"Ugh, gimme a minute, will ya?"

"Now, Yukari." Minato deadpanned.

"Hold your friggin' horses, I'm actually making some progress- Hrragggghhh!!"

"_Dammit_, Yukari!" Minato hissed to himself, covering up the communicator and grinding his teeth.

"Mitsuru-sen-"

"It's all right, I've got her. We're just around the corner-"

He frowned as Ken came rushing toward him, an exhausting expression wearing on his young features.

"Forget about using Hama skills. . . I guess I should have figured. No way a shadow that size could be taken out with one hit. . . sorry I keep getting knocked out."

"Senpai," He looked darkly over to Mitsuru, who narrowly stepped out of the way of a nasty slash attack with a limp Yukari in her arms. Ken went to her side quickly and helped her shoulder Yukari's dead weight.

"Mitsuru-senpai! You're bleeding-" Ken gaped.

"I should say the same of you, Amada. Do you have enough spirit power to perform Samarecarm?"

Ken shook his head and looked up to see Minato stepping toward them.

"I've got this one. Though we should all be careful; it will be my last one for the night."

Mitsuru nodded gravely

Minato unloaded his evoker into his head and Attis appeared to revive Yukari with full health.

"Ugh. . . oh, great." Yukari muttered, looking up at the still standing shadow.

"Next time I expect you to listen to me, Yukari." Minato said slowly, looking down at her with the slightest inkling of impatience.

"Sorry, everyone."

"Our only option now is to keep at it until we can knock it down. Ken, do you have enough spirit power for a Ziodyne?"

"Just barely."

"All right. Then you'll resume the role of support when you run out, use whatever medicine we have left, though it isn't much. Senpai will take over for you for as long as she can."

"She'll try and freeze its hands while Yukari will try and blow it off its feet. When, or if, it falls, Ken and I will blast it with everything we've got."

"Leave it to us." Yukari said, sidling up alongside Mitsuru. Mitsuru gave her a curt nod before extending her evoker to her head and blasting out a call for Artemesia's strongest ice attack. Her aim landed on the fringees of the shadow's knuckles, but quickly swept back to cover the behemoth's entire hands. The monster shrieked in fury as Mitsuru took a step back while Yukari summoned Isis and threw a swirling Garudyne at it's feet.

Through no talent of their own, the Garudyne stumbled over at the critical attack.

"Yes!" Yukari exclaimed as Ken and Minato flew by her and pounced.

"Now's our chance! Let's get 'em!"

"Right, everyone – All out attack, now!"

Minato ushered his team unto the writhing shadow. He was certainly aware that while his team was not holding back, they were going to be unable to finish this particular shadow off in their current states. He hacked away ruthlessly, nonetheless, willing his team to hold out a bit longer and hoping for Aigis to trust him as unconditionally as she protected him.

* * *

The smoke settled.

Yukari dropped to her knees, panting.

Mitsuru managed to stand but at the expense of dropping her rapier dully to the ground so that she could clutch her profusely bleeding chest with both hands.

Ken lay sprawled out on his stomach, with his arms curled in front of him in attempt to support himself.

The shadow leaned heavily on one knee for what seemed like a victorious moment, before steadily rising, and throwing his head back in a cruel and sickening scream.

* * *

Aigis glared decisively ahead of her as the black shadow composed itself enough to stand back up. She managed to veil her crashing system to the shadow, but her teammates saw it clearly as a the bad sign it was.

"'The HELL?! How can it be standing?" Junpei roared, resting his katana momentarily on the ground.

Akihiko sagged unto his knees, his knuckles bleeding intensely from his attempts to block the shadow's attacks. He was trying to catch his breath while Koromaru growled lowly next to him.

On the opposite side of bridge, they heard the howling cry of the red shadow.

Akihiko's eyes widened as he looked up at the monster before them. For a frightful moment, it did nothing but stand menacingly before them. This moment passed abruptly, however, when the black shadow unleashed a matching howl.

Junpei gritted his teeth at the piercing sound.

"This is not good! Those shadows are using that howl to heal each other to full health!" Fuuka's fear-stricken voice accosted the two teams over the communicator.

"What's going on, Fuuka? What do we do?"

Aigis folded her lips tightly as she kept her steady and loathesome glare on the shadow before her.

"You guys are in bad shape, you can't last much longer out there!"

"To hell with that-" Junpei spluttered, furious. "I'm not quitting just yet!" He picked his two-handed katana up in both hands and sprang toward the shadow.

"Junpei, you idiot! Get back here!" Akihiko said, leaping after his younger friend after tightening the bladed fists around his wrists.

Koromaru went to chase after them, but stop when Aigis' voice pulled him back.

"Koromaru. Wait. . . one moment, if you will." Aigis said calmly, her glare still focused on the shadow.

_Minato-san. Please. . ._

* * *

Minato could feel the waiting and defeated glances of his team digging into him from behind.

_I didn't want to use it here._

His brow furrowed in concentration as he closed his eyes and pointed his face to the ground, the tip his two-handed sword lightly touching the ground.

_I didn't want to use it at all._

"Minato! MINATO, what do we do?!"

The voice of a fearful Yukari barely reached him.

Minato took in a small breath as he looked up, resigned, at the shadow before him.

"Retreat." He said frigidly, his voice deep and raw.

Yukari's eyes widened in anger.

"No way." She said bitterly, pulling herself up painfully from her knees and onto her wobbly feet.

Minato was silent as he drew his evoker.

"Fuuka." He called out, his voice heavily remniscent of the dark winter they found themselves in.

A feathery breath came over the communicator before she spoke softly.

"All teams, retreat." Fuuka voiced hurtfully.

Aigis' eyes closed softly in relief as Fuuka's voice washed over her. She then nodded curtly at Koromaru, and they proceeded after Akihiko and Junpei.

Junpei skidded to a halt for a moment, looking incredulously in the direction of Fuuka's voice.

"Hell _no, _we can waste this douchebag, right Akihiko-senpai?"

"Junpei- hey what the hell? Bad dog! Bad dog!" Koromaru snarled, annoyed, as he latched on to bottom of Akihiko's pant leg, pulled him down to the ground, and began to drag Akihiko away from the shadow. Akihiko attempted to flail at the dog in an effort to unhitch himself from his jaws, but Koromaru was too fast and too rabid to pay attention to the boy.

Junpei watched the scene with an extremely bizarre look, and just as he went to throw himself into the depths of battle, he felt his body double over as he sword was pitched forward while his butt was pulled back in the opposing direction.

"_Shiiiiitt_- what, ah! _Ai-chan_!" Junpei looked back to see Aigis' pointer finger hooked around Junpei's belt loop. She looked at him and paused for a moment before disentangling her finger from his belt loop.

Junpei opened his mouth to voice his unbelievable outrage when Aigis grabbed him by the lapels and threw him over her shoulder as she pitched forward toward the safety of Fuuka's Juno.

* * *

Mitsuru snapped her head over to Minato in shock.

"Arisato-"

"I repeat, all teams retreat immediately!" Fuuka's shouted again, this time more confidently.

Mitsuru cringed before reaching down and pulling Ken gently into her arms.

"Yukari-" Mitsuru began, making to leave.

"I'm staying right here, behind Minato."

"_Yukari_-" Mitsuru barked.

"You're not doing this alone, Minato! I don't care what you want-"

"It isn't what I want." Minato began softly, almost laughingly. "That comes after. . ."

Yukari looked at him, her frightened tears still drenching her skin.

He looked at Yukari with a cold frankness before turning his back on her again.

"After what?" Yukari screamed.

"Fall back." Minato was looking at her now, his glaring blue eyes ripping into Yukari with the utmost seriousness. She faltered slightly under his intense gaze and bit down furiously on her lip before she snapped at him.

"I won't forgive you for this."

"You'll want to be quick on your feet. I won't hold this back forever." Minato responded immediately, causing Yukari to fume silently to herself as she held her breath (either from the pain in her ribs or to hold back a frustrated scream) and hastily followed the limping form of Mitsuru.

Minato waited for the black shadow to advance behind him before he turned himself around so that he was flanked by both shadows.

He drew in a steady breath as he tapped the evoker to his head and softly sighed.

"Lucifer. . . Satan. . ."

He felt a cold fire touch his cheeks.

"_Armageddon_."

* * *

Mitsuru cracked her eyes open to be met with the relieved brown eyes of Ken Amada.

"Thank goodness. . . you've come to."

Mitsuru raised a numb hand to her temple only to have it bathed in sticky warm blood.

"Wha. . ."

"You should hold still, senpai." Ken said seriously, taking her arm and gently putting it down by her side.

Mitsuru frowned.

"Amada. . . you're in no condition to be. . . whe. . . where's your coat? You look like you're freezing."

Ken shrugged and gave her a happy smile.

"It's behind your head. . . I really don't mind. I'm okay."

Mitsuru went to reproach him when she shot up from her spot on the ground.

"The others-" Mitsuru cut herself short as she hissed in pain. Ken pushed her back down with a chastising look.

"They're okay, I think some of them are starting to come to-"

"Come to-?! S.E.E.S., roll call!" Mitsuru shouted hoarsely from her place on the ground.

"Aw, Mitsuru. . . give it a rest _for once_, please!" Akihiko groaned.

Mitsuru looked over to see him lying on his stomach with his cheek pressed to the cold ground.

She glared at him before repeating herself stubbornly.

"S.E.E.S. Roll call, list your injuries as well!" Mitsuru barked.

"Aigis, reporting. I have taken heavy damage to my CPU, and several of my circuits have shorted out. I am also in need of buffing." Aigis began, her calm and controlled voice echoing off of the nearby bridge walls.

"Ugh. . . Yukari Takeba, reporting. I think I sprained my wrist and my left ankle." Yukari muttered, gently massaging her ankle with a soft hiss.

"Junpei Iori, reporting. I've got some wind burns on my face and I'm cut up pretty bad on my stomach but other than that, I'm a-okay."

A deep bark penetrated the short-lived silence.

"Koromaru says that he has a few minor injuries on his ears and tail, but they are not deep."

"Ken Amada; reporting." Ken looked down at Mitsuru with a confident smile. "I'm okay, I've just got some bruises on my arm from the crash and my shoulder's got a deep cut, but nothing serious."

"Akihiko Sanada; I'm pretty sure I have a few cracked ribs and I'm still kind of thawing out from all those ice attacks, but I'm okay too. . . just really beat. Mitsuru-"

"I'm fine," Mitsuru snapped.

Ken frowned.

"Senpai has really bad road-rash on her leg. Her scorch marks are gone, but she's got a bad gash on her collarbone that probably needs stitches, not to mention a cut on her temple."

Mitsuru muttered a thanks to the young man hunched above her.

"Fuuka Yamagisihi; reporting. I'm fine, except. . ." she said wearily, buckling under her own weight and crumbling to the ground. "I feel really tired all of a sudden." She ended weakly.

The early morning frost was beginning to coalesce underneath them on the stone bricks that made up the bridge. S.E.E.S. was beginning to grow concious of the mist settling in around them, when Junpei suddenly wondered aloud:

"Where's Minato?"

"Ah. . Sorry. Minato Arisato. . . reporting."

S.E.E.S. looked over to the railing of the enshrouded bridge to see Minato casually leaning up against and facing them with his arms folded leisurely against his chest.

"Are you. . . hurt?" Fuuka asked meekly.

Yukari stonily glared at him.

Minato awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and then shook his head.

"Ah. . . no, actually."

"What?" Junpei blurted incredulously. "Not at all?"

Minato shook his head again.

"No."

"Not a scratch." Akihiko reiterated, unblinkingly.

"Sorry, not this time."

"How the hell you manage that?" Junpei asked, dying for an answer.

Minato was motionless.

"Everyone. . . I'm sorry, for getting you all hurt. I'll make it up to you all somehow."

At first, the members of S.E.E.S. waited for Junpei to attack the comment with a snarky joke, but none came. The team suddenly realized that though their leader was normally quiet and collected, this time he was dead serious.

"I'll make it up to you." He repeated coldly, more to himself than to his team.

* * *

Fuuka couldn't help but gasp when Junpei hauled her up onto his back.

"Wee! Junpei-back ride!" He grunted in a high pitched voice as he wrapped his arms around her ankles. Fuuka instinctively wrapped her arms around Junpei's chest as she let her head drop wearily to his shoulder.

"Junpei-"

"What? You looked like you were going to pass out!"

Fuuka paused.

"I. . . I thank you, Junpei-kun."

Junpei shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. We owe you big time, it's the least I could do."

Aigis nodded as she appeared beside Junpei.

"Yes. Let us return now, together."

Ken smiled as he guided and steadied a weary Mitsuru by the elbow, eliciting a slightly disgruntled but mostly grateful frown from elder girl.

Akihiko slung his coat over his shoulder as he whistled a request for Koromaru to return to his side. The dog abidded happily, but not before tickling Akihiko's fingers with his tongue.

Yukari haughtily stepped up alongside Minato as he walked slightly ahead of his team.

"Yukari-" He began softly.

"I'm sorry." Yukari said shortly, her arms folded tightly to her chest in order to conserve warmth and her eyes narrowed angrily in front of her.

Minato couldn't help but laugh.

"What?"

"You."

"Me?"

"You're funny." He said lightly, smiling kindly at her.

Yukari scowled at him.

"Humpth."

"Yukari?"

"What."

"Thanks for trusting me."

Yukari sighed, but said nothing. Instead, she bathed in the silence that her teammates were walking through as they supported each other, either with arms and hands, or just with their mere presence alongside each other.

"Don't thank me for something that comes naturally."

Thanks to everyone who revied the story! I'm glad I finally decided to write it! I can't wait to read all of your work! Thanks again to Exile87, NeoChick, Preseathekitsune, Darkforce222, and Black Jackal!


End file.
